Elizabeth Benedict
  • Professional Accounting
  • Class of 2017
  • Schenectady, NY

Elizabeth Benedict Wins Honorable Mention at 2015 College Fed Challenge

2015 Nov 25

Elizabeth Benedict of Schenectady, NY, represented SUNY Oneonta in the semifinal round of the 2015 College Fed Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Nov. 16. SUNY Oneonta won an Honorable Mention Award in the competition.

The College Fed Challenge is a team competition for undergraduate college students. Inspired by the working of the Federal Open Market Committee, the competition requires that students work as a team to research and analyze current economic data, develop a forecast and review potential future economic risks, and prepare a presentation and answer questions on a recommendation for monetary policy.

Benedict was part of a 10-member SUNY Oneonta team that traveled to the Federal Reserve Bank for the first round of the competition on Oct. 30. Teams from 32 colleges and universities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut competed in the first round, and the SUNY Oneonta contingent bested teams from the other schools in its competition bracket to advance to the semifinals for the third consecutive year.

Each team was evaluated in four categories--knowledge of current economic conditions, understanding of monetary policy, data and analysis, and teamwork. "The judges' comments in both rounds indicated that the team worked very well together in answering questions and addressed all potential concerns with respect to their forecast and monetary policy recommendations," said Associate Professor of Economics David Ring, the team's adviser.

SUNY Oneonta's School of Economics and Business is accredited by AACSB International--the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a designation achieved by fewer than 5 percent of business schools around the world. In addition to its three undergraduate majors, Professional Accounting, Business Economics and Economic, the school offers two minors, four concentrations and seven cooperative programs.