A team of students from Marlboro High School won the 2020 Monmouth County Consumer Bowl, a game show-style competition for teams of high school students, held on Feb. 13 at the Monmouth County Fire Academy, Howell.
“Each year, I am impressed by these young adults who participate and demonstrate their knowledge of consumer-related legislation, regulation, fraud and more,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the Division of Consumer Affairs.
“This friendly competition between county high schools emphasizes the importance of outreach and how the Division of Consumer Affairs executes consumer laws to help residents who suspect they might be victims of malpractice,” Burry said.
Students from six high schools answered consumer-related questions in a multiple choice and open-ended format to test their knowledge of consumer issues, such as internet fraud and buying and leasing automobiles, according to a press release from the county.
In the final round, the teams from Marlboro High School and Freehold High School, Freehold Borough, faced off. In the end, the Marlboro students were victorious and won the 2020 Monmouth County Consumer Bowl title.
Team members were Matthew Goodman (captain), Nikhit Basineni, Ankit Adimala, Jacob Zhang and Finn Leahy. The students’ teacher and adviser is Patrick Scinto.
Teams from Freehold High School, Freehold Township High School, Howell High School, Manalapan High School, Marlboro High School and Raritan High School participated in the competition, according to the press release.
The Marlboro High School team will move on to the central regional competition to be held on April 22 at the Monmouth County Fire Academy. The winner of the regional competition will advance to the 2020 New Jersey State Consumer Bowl scheduled for May in Trenton.
The New Jersey High School Consumer Bowl is a program of the State Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Consumer Affairs. It was established in 1997 to help students learn about consumer issues that will benefit each of them throughout their lives, according to the press release.
The Division of Consumer Affairs is a law enforcement agency created and funded by the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders. The division helps protect residents against consumer fraud and dishonest business practices by enforcing the State Consumer Fraud Act, among other regulations, according to the press release.