Carstensen wins scholarship for online essay

ODESSA – Odessa High School junior Nathan Carstensen is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from Next Generation Personal Finance (NGPF). He received an honorable mention for the essay he wrote on paying for college after completing NGPF’s Payback Challenge. Nathan was one of 47 scholarship recipients from across the U.S. The two grand-prize winners each received a scholarship worth $2,500. The 45 entrants who were awarded honorable mention received $1,000 each to be used for further education.

NGPF is a nonprofit organization founded by Tim and Jessica Endlich. Their mission is to provide quality personal finance curriculum to all students at no cost, with a goal of every high school graduate taking one semester. In addition, NGPF provides free professional development to the 36,000 teachers using their resources.

In the 2020 school year, students, teachers and families faced unprecedented challenges filled with remote learning, uncertainty and community concerns. Congratulations to all the students and teachers who made the time to take part in this challenge.