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Obama+iOme: The Challenge to Millennials is on!

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From St. Norbert College, October 2, 2013
by Mike Counter, mike.counter@snc.edu, 920-403-3089

The 5th Annual iOme Challenge http://www.iOmeChallenge.org is asking Millennials to provide significant input into their generation's financial future--and that of the entire retirement system.

iOme winner earns $10,000 plus a trip to Washington D.C. to present ideas to policymakers. In the past, iOme winners have attended meetings at The White House and on Capitol Hill; they've met with the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Members of Congress; the Domestic Policy Council, representatives from the Departments of Labor, Education, Treasury and other interests in Washington.

This year, iOme Challenge consists of two parts: an essay and a video. The challenge is the following scenario:

President Obama has appointed your team to serve as the newly formed Presidential Commission on Financial Literacy and Security. He wants answers to the following questions:

1) How different would America look today if the "baby boom" generation saved/invested sufficiently to have their own secure retirement?

2) What investment vehicles could the private and public sectors create to provide sufficient incentives for adequate savings/investments among Millennials - so we don't have to ask this same question 40 years from now?

3) What kind of an educational program could be launched on college campuses to educate peers on the value of saving/investing specifically and, financial literacy in general?

The President wants the answers backed by solid research and/or model programming; he wants to use your video as a Public Service Announcement to promote your answers. The winners are then hosted in Washington.

As students are returning to campus this fall, teams are beginning to form. Faculty Advisors are encouraged to include the iOme Challenge as part of their class curriculum.

Last year, a team from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville won the top prize. Faculty advisor Kenneth Baker accompanied his team on the trip to Washington and earned an additional $2000.

Additionally, teams from the University of Georgia-Athens, University of the Incarnate Word, Virginia Tech (essays) and Bentley University, John Brown University, University of Hartford, and University of Nevada at Las Vegas (videos) received special recognitions.

In a separate video contest conducted in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Money Smart Week program, John Brown University was awarded a cash prize.

Past winners of iOme Challenge include Western Michigan University, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville for the main prize as well as St. Norbert College, University of Nevada - Reno, LaGrange College, Michigan Technological University, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and others as Honorable Mentions.

iOme Challenge is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors including Plan Administrators Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, ASPPA, and others.
For more information or media inquires, contact Adi Redzic, executive director of iOme Challenge at adi@iomechallenge.org or 920-264-0809 or go to http://www.iOmeChallenge.org.

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