AAA to Challenge America's Youth With Travel Quiz

    AURORA, Ill., Jan. 7, 2003; Despite current events in the Middle
East, only one in seven Americans ages 18-24 could find Iraq on a map,
according to a recent survey.
    To help address this problem, AAA will kick off a nationwide high school
competition this month that is designed to enhance geographic and travel
literacy.  The competition is the AAA Travel High School Challenge, which will
offer winners $156,000 in college scholarships.
    "AAA hopes to heighten the geographic literacy of youths and create
awareness of job opportunities in the travel and tourism industries with this
exciting new competition," said AAA Chicago's Director of Travel Alexandra
Petropoulos.
    Public, private and home-school students in grades 9-12 throughout the
United States must compete on three different levels to win in the finals,
which will be held at Universal Orlando.
    Initially, students will take a web-based exam on
http://www.aaa.com/TravelChallenge .  Illinois students will only be able to take the
exam Jan. 13-19 and Indiana students will only be able to take the exam Jan.
20-26.
    The top five achievers in each state and in Washington, D.C., will advance
to the state competition.  For the state competition, students will take a
proctored, written exam.  The top scorer in each state and in Washington,
D.C., will receive a $1,000 scholarship and advance to the national finals in
Orlando.
    Finalists and their chaperones will receive an expense paid trip to
Orlando to attend the national competition.  The national finals will also
involve a proctored, written exam, and culminate in a live game show that will
position two teams of three students each. Members of the winning team will
each receive a $25,000 scholarship and each member of the runner-up team will
win a $10,000 scholarship.
    The Hogan Family Foundation of Westlake Village, Calif., is providing the
funds for the college scholarships.
    "AAA is pleased to offer this opportunity to help improve destination
literacy with America's youth and to underscore AAA's commitment to education
and community," said Petropoulos.
    Information on the AAA Travel High School Challenge is being shared with
state Boards of Education and high schools throughout the country. Teachers
and students also can find more information at http://www.aaa.com/TravelChallenge .
    Sponsors for the AAA Travel High School Challenge include Continental
Airlines, Holland America Line, Marriott, MBNA America, Pleasant Holidays and
Universal Orlando.

    AAA Chicago offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services.
It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs
in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states.  ACG clubs belong to
the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than
45 million members in the United States and Canada.