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GSN'S SECOND ANNUAL 'NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP' CULMINATES WITH A LIVE COMPETITION IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA ON MONDAY, MARCH 10
For Immediate Release
GSN'S SECOND ANNUAL 'NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP' CULMINATES WITH A LIVE COMPETITION IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA ON MONDAY, MARCH 10
50 Of The Nation's Top Student Word-Smiths Compete for $40,000 Toward College Tuition
(Santa Monica, CA) - Thursday, February 21, 2008 - GSN has announced the final 50 competitors of its nationally recognized, award-winning NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP (NVC). Of the more than 100,000 high school students who participated throughout the country during the 2007-2008 qualifying competitions, these 50 word-smiths will compete for $40,000 to be deposited into a "529" higher education savings plan. Presented in partnership with cable affiliates Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cablevision's Power to Learn, the live event will take place at The Music Box Theatre @ Fonda in Los Angeles, California on Monday, March 10, 2008 from 12:30 to 3PM PT.
First launched in September 2006, the NVC is a pro-social educational initiative conceived by GSN to emphasize the importance of language arts skills and encourage the vocabulary development of high school students nationwide. It has since received numerous accolades from some of the country's most noted dignitaries including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice President Al Gore. Since its inaugural year, the NVC has more than tripled in student involvement (with over 100,000 participating students nationwide during the 2007-2008 competition) and awarded nearly $140,000 in tuition and grant monies.
At the March 10th NVC Finals, 50 top high school vocabulary scholars, ages 13-19 (qualifying either via citywide competitions or regional exams offered nationwide), will face off in three challenging rounds of vocabulary calisthenics. More than a spelling bee (in fact, there is no spelling element to speak of), the NVC scores its contestants on their vocabulary acumen through several intense rounds of competition. The winner will receive $40,000 deposited into a "529" higher education savings plan and the title of 2008 National Vocabulary Champion. Video coverage of the event including the award ceremony will be made available online at www.gsn.com/NVC.
"Since its inception in 2004, our vision has been to make the NVC into an award-winning public service campaign," commented Dennis Gillespie, GSN's Senior Vice President of Distribution. "We couldn't be more pleased with how well it's been received this year and with the level of involvement from our affiliate partners, who have helped champion this important event in communities nationwide."
Having been embraced by students, teachers, higher education officials and education groups including the National Education Association as well as cable operators Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and Cablevision's Power to Learn, the NVC has also received an outpouring of support across the country from politicians and celebrities alike. In addition to its educational partner The Princeton Review, who provided the content for the NVC, the program is also supported by sponsors The American Heritage Dictionary, Chipotle, Encyclopedia Britannica, Mead, Sony Vaio, USA Today and Youth Service America. As the NVC transportation sponsor, JetBlue Airways will provide roundtrip airfare to and from Los Angeles for the contestants and their guests.
GSN is pleased to announce that of the 50 students to compete in last year's NVC Finals in New York, 15 (italicized in the list below) will be returning this March including 16 year-old Jack Ausick from Clyde Park, MT, who placed second. Of New Jersey's six national finalists this year, both Matthew Chao (17) from East Brunswick and Alex Siladay (15) from Edison, NJ will be making their second appearance at the NVC Finals. Likewise, Billy Dorminy (16) and Joe Shepherd (16) will be representing the state of Georgia for their second time and, boasting two returning national finalists of this year, New York's Snigda Sur (18) and Erik Zyman (16) will again be competing for the title of National Vocabulary Champion.
A complete list of the 50 finalists follows, including name, age, school, city and state. All media are invited to cover the live event. For further information or to interview participants, please contact Cindy Ronzoni at GSN (310.255.6933/cronzoni@gsn.com). The NVC media credential form can be downloaded from the press section of the NVC website at www.gsn.com/NVC.
NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP FINALISTS (Subject to change. Returning contestants italicized, (*) denotes citywide competition winner)
|
ALABAMA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Claire Chamberlin, 17 | Fairhope HS | Fairhope, AL |
ARKANSAS Name, Age | High School | City |
| Levi Foster, 17 | Haas Hall Academy | Fayetteville, AR |
| Helena Liu, 17 | Central HS | Little Rock, AR |
ARIZONA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Rebecca Lee, 17 | Desert Mountain HS | Scottsdale, AZ |
CALIFORNIA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Aliya Deri, 16 | Amador Valley HS | Pleasanton, CA |
| *Yvonne Lin, 16 | Folsom HS | Folsom, CA |
| Christopher Stair, 17 | Arroyo HS | San Lorenzo, CA |
CONNECTICUT Name, Age | High School | City |
| David Donna, 17 | Granby Memorial HS | Granby, CT |
| Erin Michet, 17 | Farmington HS | Farmington, CT |
FLORIDA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Alice Chang, 15 | Gulf HS | Odessa, FL |
GEORGIA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Billy Dorminy, 16 | Home Schooled | McDonough, GA |
| Joe Shepherd, 16 | Home Schooled | Waynesboro, GA |
ILLINOIS Name, Age | High School | City |
| John Mussman, 17 | Northside College Prep HS | Chicago, IL |
IOWA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Laura Cremer, 17 | Iowa City West HS | Iowa City, IA |
| Katherine Orazem, 18 | Ames HS | Ames, IA |
LOUSIANA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Andrew Pirolo, 17 | Isidore Newman School | New Orleans, LA |
MICHIGAN Name, Age | High School | City |
| *Steven Banks, 18 | Renaissance HS | Detroit, MI |
| Hanlu (Janice) Chen, 17 | Troy HS | Troy, MI |
| Jennifer Xu, 16 | Troy HS | Troy, MI |
MISSOURI Name, Age | High School | City |
| *Rajiv Tarigopula, 15 | Parkway West HS | Ballwin, MO |
MONTANA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Jack Ausick, 16 | Home Schooled | Clyde Park, MT |
NORTH CAROLINA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Tyler Adkins, 17 | Forsyth Country Day School | Pfafftown, NC |
| Elena Botella, 16 | Myers Park HS | Charlotte, NC |
| Lia Campbell, 17 | Home Schooled | Hendersonville, NC |
NEW JERSEY Name, Age | High School | City |
| Mathew Chao, 17 | Home Schooled | East Brunswick, NJ |
| Leah Rothstein, 17 | Bruriah HS | Hillside, NJ |
| Ronald Serko, 17 | Tenafly HS | Alpine, NJ |
| Alex Silady, 15 | John P. Stevens HS | Edison, NJ |
| Arun Viswanath, 17 | The Frisch School | Teaneck, NJ |
| Thomas Wilson, 17 | Pope John XXIII HS | Franklin, NJ |
NEW MEXICO Name, Age | High School | City |
| Vivienne Clark, 15 | Home Schooled | Albuquerque, NM |
| Becky Wood, 16 | La Cueva HS | Albuquerque, NM |
NEW YORK Name, Age | High School | City |
| Seferina Berch, 15 | Stuyvesant HS | New York, NY |
| *Rebecca Maxfield, 16 | New Rochelle HS | New Rochelle, NY |
| Snigdha Sur, 18 | Stuyvesant HS | Floral Park, NY |
| Erik Zyman, 16 | Stuyvesant HS | New York City, NY |
OHIO Name, Age | High School | City |
| *Joel Fichter, 18 | St. Edward HS | Lakewood, OH |
PENNSYLVANIA Name, Age | High School | City |
| *Lauren Bejzak, 16 | Pennsbury HS | Fairless Hills, PA |
| *John Oxenreiter, Jr., 18 | Mt. Lebanon Senior HS | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Owen Ricker, 17 | Wilson Area HS | Easton, PA |
TENNESSEE Name, Age | High School | City |
| *Brian Swenson, 16 | Montgomery Bell Academy | Nashville, TN |
TEXAS Name, Age | High School | City |
| Samir Patel, 14 | Home Schooled | Colleyville, TX |
| Linhao Zhang, 16 | Plano Senior HS | Plano, TX |
UTAH Name, Age | High School | City |
| Kaitlyn Kelley, 18 | Judge Memorial Catholic HS | Cottonwood, UT |
VIRGINIA Name, Age | High School | City |
| Devin Hernandez, 18 | Chantilly HS | Chantilly, VA |
| Alexander Kim, 16 | Thomas Jefferson HS (Sci. & Tech.) | Fairfax, VA |
| Sarah Weinberg, 16 | George Mason HS | Falls Church, VA |
WISCONSIN Name, Age | High School | City |
| Jordan Hildebrandt, 17 | Tremper HS | Kenosha, WI |
| Allison Maytag, 17 | Brookfield Academy | Colgate, WI |
WYOMING Name, Age | High School | City |
| Jennifer Black, 16 | Home Schooled | Cheyenne, WY |
For more information on the 2007-2008 NVC Finals as well as photos of the 50 Finalists, please visit www.gsn.com/NVC.
About the "National Vocabulary Championship"
GSN's National Vocabulary Championship (NVC) is a nationwide academic competition that offers high school students the opportunity to win money toward college tuition through local and national events. Created by GSN, along with educational partner The Princeton Review, the NVC is open to eligible high school students in the 50 United States and District of Columbia. The NVC is the cornerstone of GSN's award-winning "Win With Words" public service campaign dedicated to improving language arts skills in high schools by promoting the value of an enhanced vocabulary, providing free Princeton Review study materials and engaging students in wordplay. For free vocabulary study materials or for more information on GSN's National Vocabulary Championship, please visit www.gsn.com/NVC.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or participate in the NVC. Open only to high school students who are legal residents of the U.S., between the ages of 13 and 19 as of the date of the applicable NVC exam and/or event. Minors in their state of residency must provide written consent from their parent or legal guardian to be eligible to advance to an NVC citywide championship or regional exam. Fifty finalists (eight citywide champions and 42 top scorers from the National Qualifying Competition) will win an opportunity to compete for $40,000 towards college tuition at the National Vocabulary Championship Finals. Void where prohibited. See Official Rules at www.winwithwords.com for complete details, including dates of NVC qualifying examinations and events, additional eligibility restrictions and prize descriptions/restrictions.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a pioneer in the world of education. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, the Company offers private tutoring and classroom and online test preparation to help students improve their scores in college and graduate school admissions tests. The Company's free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, helps over half of university-bound students research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for their higher education, and helps hundreds of colleges and universities streamline their admissions and recruiting activities. In addition, The Princeton Review works with school districts around the U.S. to measurably strengthen students' academic skills by connecting ongoing assessment with professional development and instruction and by providing districts with college and career resources for both students and guidance counselors. The Company also authors more than 200 print and software titles on test preparation, college and graduate school selection and admissions, and related topics.
About GSN
GSN is a trusted industry-leading game content provider that distributes game show programming through its 68-million subscriber television network and its casual and online competitive entertainment games site, GSN.com. As the premier television network for games, GSN encourages its viewers to play every day by putting winning within reach for everyone by inviting them to participate and play along through popular original game shows, free downloadable games and skill cash game tournaments. GSN is distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada by all major cable operators, satellite providers and telcos. The company is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.
Media Contact: Cindy Ronzoni, GSN 310.255.6933/ cronzoni@gsn.com
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