NGPF Announces Winners of 6th Annual PAYBACK Challenge

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), a nonprofit committed to ensuring all students graduate high school having taken a semester of personal finance, is pleased to recognize two students as National Grand Prize winners in their 2022 PAYBACK Challenge.

NGPF's annual PAYBACK Challenge gives high school students across the country a chance to win a $2500 Grand Prize for their educational pursuits while developing an understanding of what college life will be like. NGPF is pleased to recognize the recipients of the 2022 contest:

Libby Kurt of Forest Hills Northern High School (Grand Rapids, MI) Rithvika Thunuguntia of Parkway Central High School (Chesterfield, MO)

An interview with the winners is available on NGPF's podcast. Their winning submissions can be read and watched on NGPF's website.

In addition to the two National Grand Prize scholarship winners, 40 students were recognized as Honorable Mention Award recipients, each receiving a $1,000 scholarship for educational pursuits.

And as part of NGPF's commitment to increase access to financial education within communities serving majority Black or Hispanic students through the Financial Equity and Empowerment (FEE grant), another 12 awards were specifically granted to students from FEE grant districts.

View a full list of scholarship winners.

Each student participating in the NGPF Payback Challenge played PAYBACK, an award-winning college simulation game, and then chose between writing an essay or creating a video in response to the following prompt:

Now that you've explored a college experience by playing PAYBACK, what did you learn from the game that you'll be able to apply to your future experiences? Include relevant excerpts from the PAYBACK game to enhance your key points.

Submissions were evaluated based on creativity, clarity, and demonstration of an understanding of key concepts learned from playing PAYBACK.

"In today's economy, a college degree is a valuable asset," said NGPF co-founder Tim Ranzetta. "Playing PAYBACK helps students understand the financial commitment and the tradeoffs involved in the college experience before embarking on the journey."

More than 250,000 students played PAYBACK during the contest period and nearly 1,000 teachers nominated the best student essay from their classes.

PAYBACK has received Webby Awards for best Social Impact game and best Educational Game and has also been featured in the New York Times. It is a free game and one of the most popular in the NGPF Arcade, with more than 13 million plays in 2022.

Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is a nonprofit committed to guaranteeing that all high school students receive a personal finance course prior to graduating. NGPF has become the "one-stop shop" for more than 70,000 educators looking for high-quality, engaging personal finance curriculum to equip students with the skills they need to thrive in the future. NGPF invests in teacher professional development with live Virtual PD workshops, 10 Certification courses and 40+ asynchronous On-Demand modules. NGPF has been recognized by Common Sense Education as a "Top Website for Teachers to Find Lesson Plans" and "Best Business and Finance Games." Visit ngpf.org for more.

Media Contact:
Hannah Rael
Marketing Communications Manager
Next Gen Personal Finance
[email protected]

SOURCE Next Gen Personal Finance