Students contribute ‘Up to Us’ prize money to College

A team of students from Tusculum College was awarded fifth place in the fourth annual Up to Us campus competition. The group of seniors has decided to contribute the prize money the team received to the College

During the annual School of Business Banquet in late April, the team members presented more than $2,000 to Tusculum President Nancy B. Moody as a contribution to the Tusculum First Scholarship. The Tusculum First Scholarship was established by the 2015 graduating seniors as their class gift to help future students achieve their educational goals as others had helped them achieve their goals. The class of 2016 also donated its class gift to the Tusculum First Scholarship.

The team members included Michael Fernando, Haylee Reed, Leon Seiz, David Siegle and Jonas Winklemann.

Members of the Up to Us team present Dr. Nancy B. Moody,Tusculum president, with its prize money during the School of Business Banquet on April 26.

Up to Us is a project coordinated by Net Impact, working in partnership with the Peter. G. Petersen Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative. The organization provides an opportunity to college students to educate their peers on issues stemming from the national debt, giving students the chance to speak up and make an impact on the nation’s long-term fiscal and economic health.

During the 2016 Up to Us campaign, 230 students on 53 teams in 28 states worked on their individual campuses to engage other students in understanding the national debt through in-person outreach, events and activities on campus.

“It’s been a rewarding experience,” said Michael Fernando, a senior Tusculum College student from Sri Lanka majoring in accounting, general management and economics and international business, who headed the effort at Tusculum College. “After we were invited to participate in Up to Us, such a prestigious competition, I knew we would have to give it all we had. We had a great team, and I am glad that we were as successful as we were.”

According to Fernando, Tusculum College participated in the campaign from October 22, 2015 through February 21, 2016, launching weeks of creative, non-partisan and thought-provoking campus campaigns to raise awareness of the impact of America’s long-term national debt.

The Tusculum College team led some innovative campaign strategies, including a TED Talk style forum regarding the national debt, he said. Students participated in the project “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees,” during which they made signs detailing how they cared about the national debt and hung them around trees on the Greeneville campus and even made special announcements during a basketball game.

As part of their award, the team will also be awarded a cash prize, which they have chosen to donate to Tusculum College. The team leaders from the top 10 teams have also been invited to Washington, D.C. to attend the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2016 Fiscal Summit; they will meet with economists and national political leaders to discuss the national debt and its impact on millennials. Fernando also traveled to the University of California, Berkeley to the Clinton Global Initiative University conference in early April where the winning teams were recognized by former President Bill Clinton.

Teams from the 2016 Up to Us campaign were assessed by a panel of judges that included several elite business executives and Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation.

For more information on the Up to Us initiative, visit www.itsuptous.org.

 

By Madilyn Elliott, senior journalism and professional writing major from Hampton