Citi Awards Over $39,000 in College Scholarships to Winners of Second Annual National Essay Contest

NEW YORK, June 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- "Money is actually like a Popsicle in the sweaty fist of a kid: always shrinking and always tasty." This insightful quote comes from a 12th grader who is one of 17 winners of the second annual Citi/Scholastic National Essay Contest, as Citi Cards today awards $39,500 in college scholarships. A joint effort between Citi's Credit-ED Program and Scholastic Inc., the global children's publishing and media company, the essay contest requires high-school students put their writing and money management skills into practice for a chance to win one of seventeen college scholarships. Additionally, $10,500 is awarded to the winners' teachers.

The essay contest is part of Citi's effort to deliver its award-winning Credit-ED(R) Program into high schools nationwide and raise awareness of the critical need for financial education among teens. The initiative additionally includes lessons on money-management and writing, which provide classroom materials to English teachers, guidance counselors and business/economics teachers to help high-school students prepare for college.

Experts agree that today's youth grow up challenged in a world of consumerism, and fiscal education early on is a necessity. "Who saves money today? Teens don't -- because their parents don't. Kids could learn about saving -- if it was taught in the classroom. But it's not. Instead of learning to 'save for tomorrow,' young adults learn to 'buy it now,'" says Ric Edelman, author of The Truth About Money.

This year, nearly 5,000 11th and 12th graders submitted a 500-word entry answering the following personal finance question: "In what ways does money and the act of saving money present a challenge to today's youth?"

"From the thousands of entries that we received, it became clear just how daunting a task saving money is for today's teens," said Jeff Schumacher, Senior Vice President, Citi Cards. He adds, "it is crucial we reach today's youth as early as possible and educate them about how to manage money. Our annual essay contest with Scholastic is just one component of our free, comprehensive Credit-ED program where Citi provides young adults with the tools that will help them develop the critical skills necessary to be financially responsible throughout their lives."

Teens view saving money as an elusive goal, citing inflation, the media for promoting the latest must-have item, even a lack of maturity as challenges to overcome. Other diverse responses from the students' essays illustrate the complexity of the issue:

"We learn about the stock market crash of the 1920's, yet no course work is offered in the areas of financial planning or consumer spending." "A night out seems both harmless and easy to justify, but a simple $8 movie ticket and $15 dinner can add up more quickly than we realize. Factoring in car insurance payments and gas money, even the most ambitious teenagers can be left with little money to put towards college." "We want happiness regardless of cost. In real life, however, all our aspirations cost money."

"Scholastic is committed to developing innovative educational programs that encourage and foster literacy and a lifelong love of learning," said Shelley White, Editorial Director, Scholastic. "In providing this financial literacy curriculum to teachers and students nationwide, Scholastic and Citi are helping teens develop sound money management skills that will not only take them through college but throughout their adult lives."

Essays were judged on creativity, clear content, logical thought process and proper use of language. This year's essay contest winners are:

Grand Prize Winners, each recipients of a $15,000 scholarship check for college tuition:

* Brian Sapper of El Cajon, CA, a junior at Balboa City High School * Rebecca Tuttle of Silver Spring, MD, a senior at Paint Branch High School Second-prize winners, each receiving a $1,500 scholarship check: * Stephanie Christopher of Maria Stein, OH * Kimberly Hopson of Hattiesburg, MS * Julie La Barbera of Yonkers, NY * Benjamin Wenger of Harvard, MA * Cecilia Yang of Palo Alto, CA Third-prize winners, each receiving a $200 scholarship check: * Alyse Brennecke of Grand Junction, CO * Jenna Brobst of Morgantown, WV * Emily Czarnik-Neimeyer of Appleton, WI * Andrew Durtschi of Ketchum, ID * Allen Holder of Cave Creek, AZ * Mariana Krueger of New Braunfels, TX * Alice Lee of Niskayuna, NY * Ana Cecilia Mesta of El Paso, TX * Eddie Sarrine of Tampa, FL * Michael Song of Marietta, GA

Teachers of the winners were also awarded prizes totaling $10,500 to use towards professional development and classroom materials.

The Citi/Scholastic National Essay Contest is a component of a free in- class supplemental educational program that was distributed this spring to over 7,000 high schools nationwide, reaching over 1.3 million college-bound students and 15,000 educators. More information as well as the Grand Prize winning essays can be found at http://www.scholastic.com/collegesuccess .

Since its inception in 2000, Citi's Credit-ED Program has distributed over 1 million credit education materials for free to students, administrators and parents. To learn more about the fundamentals of money management for students, visit http://www.students.usecreditwisely.com/ .

Recently, Citigroup and the Citigroup Foundation announced a 10-year, $200 million global financial education commitment, the formation of a new Office of Financial Education and a global initiative designed to encourage its 300,000 employees around the world to devote time to support financial education and other charitable causes. Under the new initiative, employees may take a day off from work to volunteer for non-profit organizations in their communities.

About Credit-ED

Citi is the largest provider of credit cards to college students in the United States. As the leader in the college market, Citi Cards is committed to advancing financial literacy and responsible credit management among students by providing them with the utmost guidance and resources they need to spend wisely. Through its Credit-ED Program, an ongoing and comprehensive credit education initiative, Citi Cards offers a variety of free financial management tools to students, parents and college administrators that include: the http://www.students.usecreditwisely.com/ Web site where students -- and parents -- can learn the fundamentals of money management and the http://www.credit-edadministrator.com/ Web site for college administrators to help guide their students to financial "smarts."

About Citigroup

Citi Cards is a member of Citigroup , the preeminent global financial services company has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Travelers Life and Annuity. Additional information may be found at http://www.citigroup.com/ .

The Citigroup Financial Education Program is a global, company-wide effort to identify, support and implement initiatives that help give individuals, families and communities the tools needed to make sound financial decisions. Citigroup's 10-year, $200 million global financial education commitment is focused in three areas: Personal Financial Education, Small Business Financial Education, and Institutional Financial Education. Additional information about Citigroup's Financial Education Program, including Foundation guidelines, links and resources, including the Citigroup Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator's Guide may be found at: http://financialeducation.citigroup.com/ .

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school- based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company's Internet Site, http://www.scholastic.com/ .