Harker business and entrepreneurship student Roma Gandhi, though only in grade 9, is set to manage a household budget, having won a $20,000 scholarship from H&R Block in its annual Budget Challenge. Gandhi was one of only 10 winners out of 180,000 students nationwide who participated in the challenge. Gandhi collected her oversized check from H&R Block district general manager Marilyn Raisor in front of her cheering classmates in mid-May.

“This is very, very impressive,” said Raisor. “This challenge teaches you how to set aside money for the monthly things, and also for the fun things.”

Gandhi allotted 15 minutes per evening and more time on weekends to keep up with the challenge. “I did put in a lot of effort,” she said.

“The first thing I learned is the value of money, how to budget and how to manage your money,” said Gandhi. “I feel like that is really useful. Before, I didn’t really have a grasp on that. Every time I’d go shopping, my parents would tell me to have a budget and I’d be like, ‘yeah.’ Now I’m more aware of costs, and self-conscious about having a budget every time I go out.”