Fed Challenge Team Advances to National Finals

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A team of five students from Northwestern University will represent the Chicago Federal Reserve district in a national “Fed Challenge” competition in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 28.

They will compete against teams from the New York, Boston and Richmond Federal Reserve districts to win a share of $50,000 scholarship funds provided by Moody's Inc.

Winning team members Josh Goldstein, Frederick Herrmann, Rosa Li, Joshua Plavner and Jeanne Ruan beat 12 teams from other universities at the Oct. 31 regional competition that tested their knowledge of how the Fed creates policy to foster a strong and stable economy. The Northwestern coach is Mark Witte, senior lecturer in economics and director of undergraduate studies.

The two other teams in the semi-final round were Eastern Michigan University and Marquette University.

At the national competition, the team will give a 20-minute presentation to a panel of judges consisting of economists from the Federal Reserve. The judges will then question the students about how the Fed creates policy to foster a strong and stable economy.

Northwestern has now won the regional Fed Challenge competition three years in a row, and they have also won the national competition twice.

Plavner, who is from Annapolis, Md., is a senior in economics. He plans to work for Goldman Sachs in New York after graduation.

Li is a senior in the mathematical methods in the social sciences (MMSS) program. She is from South Bend, Ind., and will work for Morgan Stanley next year.

Herrmann's hometown is Skillman, N.J. He is a senior civil engineering major and has plans to work as an analyst in the equities division at Goldman Sachs.

Ruan, who is from Carmel, Ind., is a junior in economics, and Goldstein is a sophomore in economics from New Rochelle, N.Y.

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