The work of three current Melissa High School students and one former student was selected earlier this year by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Dallas, and Richmond as part of the High School Fed Challenge, an academic paper competition. The competition, now in its 32nd year, is open to high school teams across the nation. School teams submitted 207 papers; of those, Federal Reserve reviewers selected 12 to publish.
The students are MHS seniors Shlok Chaubey and Parin Mandya Raghavendra, sophomore Pramath Mandya Raghavendra, and former student Ayan Bhardwaj, who is currently a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin. Their paper was the only one selected from the state of Texas.
The 2026 theme was the Economics of Music; teams were encouraged to think about how economic principles can be applied to what we listen to, how it’s produced, and who benefits. The submission from MHS was titled All I Want for Chri$tmas is Revenue: The Economics of Xmas Music.
In this competition, student teams research and analyze an economic theme, then write podcast scripts reflecting their work. The selected podcast scripts were published in this year’s Journal of Future Economists, published by the Federal Reserve Bank. The competition aims to encourage students in ninth to twelfth grade to learn more about economics, promoting it as a field of study and a possible career.
“The papers combined a deep understanding of economics and a real sense of play,” said Heather Daly, head of economic education at the New York Fed. “The students explained complex economic topics in simple terms, demonstrating both their mastery of the concepts and creativity.”
Eli Stacy, outreach advisor with the Dallas Fed, said, "This year's group of scholars were focused and clear minded in their analysis of timely yet fun economic issues. You could see the ways they stretched themselves in their research and socioeconomic critiques.”
“Once you look at an aspect of everyday life in economic terms, you can understand the significance of economics,” Daly said. “Our hope is that students who wrote about the economic underpinnings of topics like concerts, streaming, and Christmas music will begin to see how interwoven economics is in their daily lives.”
The selected podcast scripts are featured in the 2026 Journal of Future Economists, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Read their article on pages 86-93! Read the journal here.
Congratulations to Shlok, Parin, Pramath and Ayan on this outstanding achievement! Their work reflects the curiosity, creativity and critical thinking of Melissa Cardinals, and we are proud to see their research recognized on a national level.