UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team of Penn State Smeal College of Business undergraduates is approaching the finish line in its effort to raise awareness about the consequences of long-term national debt as it tries to win a national competition in the process.
Teams from more than 50 institutions are participating in the fourth annual Up to Us competition, sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative University and Net Impact. The competition, which began in October, calls on teams to design thought-provoking campaigns to raise national debt awareness on campus.
A panel of judges will choose the winning team in April based on the overall impact of its campaign. The winner will receive $10,000 and a trip to the Clinton Global Initiative University, where it will meet and have lunch with Bill and Chelsea Clinton. The next seven teams will win $2,500.
The Smeal team of John Brzozowski, Evan Bedel, Nick Kreider, Austin Johnston, and Luis Virola held My Two Cents Day in the fall and gathered more than 1,200 signatures on an online pledge from students, voicing concern about long-term national debt.
“The national debt is something that will have an impact on the future of every Smeal student. I’m proud of the work this student group has done to get this message out to more than 2,000 Smeal students, faculty and staff,” Smeal Up to Us adviser Ron Johnson said.
In February, the Smeal team held several more events. First, it hosted national financial independence author and 2004 Smeal graduate Romona Hale-Coley, who talked about her new book, “Walking Towards Financial Freedom.”
The next event involved gathering student signatures on over-sized tablets in the Business Building atrium. U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson will present those 16 pages, affirming concern about the national debt, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The group created a music video parody of “Save Dat Money” by rapper Lil Dicky, and also wrote a guest column that was published in The Daily Collegian.