By Terra Aquia

Who were the winners of the 2021 Arkansas Economics Challenge?

Twenty-seven students from seven Arkansas high schools met virtually on April 8th to compete in the Arkansas Economics Challenge. 

Winning teams from this competition are eligible to advance to additional stages with other high school students from all over the U.S. 

The Arkansas Economics Challenge was made possible through generous financial support from the Council for Economic Education, as well as support from Economics Arkansas and the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics.

The competition was split into three divisions, a Team Testing Competition, where teams of students completed an economics exam focused on key concepts from micro, macro, and global economics, a Writing Competition, where individual students submitted writing samples under the topic “Thinking Like an Economist,” and a Digital Design competition, where students were asked to create digital projects that highlighted economic concepts.

The winners were:

Team Awards:

Adam Smith Division:

1st Place: Bentonville West High School

Educator: Skyler Wiens

Students: Ananya Vangoor, Karina Batra, Maanasvi Kotturi

2nd Place: Haas Hall Academy

Educator: Rebecca Luebker

Students: Ellen Zhang, Kathryn Bell, Jon Sanker, Ryan Troung

David Ricardo Division:

1st Place: Arkansas School for Math, Science, and the Arts

Educator: Carl Frank

Students: Alec Gatewood, Bryson Austin, Pierce Hickey

2nd Place: Haas Hall Academy

Educator: Rebecca Luebker

Students: Ian Popp, Thomas Walker, Henry Szalinski, Kyler Pitts

Individual Awards:

Writing Contest:

1st Place: Karina Batra, Bentonville West High School

2nd Place: Hemali Gauri, Haas Hall Academy

Digital Design Contest:

1st Place: Ananya Vangoor, Bentonville West High School

2nd Place: Karina Batra, Bentonville West High School

Student of the Year:

Karina Batra, Bentonville West High School

Teacher of the Year:

Skyler Wiens, Bentonville West High School

Library Fund Award:

Haas Hall Academy

Missed the event? Watch highlights from the competition on our YouTube Channel!