Travel and Geography 'Smarts' Earn Bloomfield Hills Student State Title and Trip to Orlando for Finals of AAA Travel High School Challenge

DEARBORN, Mich., March 27 -- Melissa Lavoie, an 11th grade student from International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, has earned a chance to compete for a $20,000 college scholarship in the AAA Travel High School Challenge, a nationwide competition on travel and geography knowledge. This May, Lavoie will travel to Orlando, Fla., and represent Michigan in the nerve- wracking national finals, where she will compete with other winners from across the country.

The AAA Travel High School Challenge aims to increase teens' travel knowledge and geographic literacy while creating awareness of career opportunities in the travel and tourism industries. High school students around the state registered for the online portion of the competition and the top five scorers advanced to the state finals. Lavoie scored the highest on a 40-question written, proctored exam taken by each of the five state finalists.

The state exams challenged students' knowledge of U.S. and world geography, with an emphasis on travel and tourist destinations. Sample questions are available online at www.aaa.com/travelchallenge.

"Melissa should be very proud because these questions are not easy," said Claire Lockley, vice president ACG Travel Product. "She will compete with the some of the nation's brightest students at the competition in Orlando."

The national finals will be held May 19-22, 2007, at Universal Studios. Students will compete in a high-stakes, single-elimination bee for a grand prize $20,000 scholarship. Second and third place prizes will also be awarded at $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

In addition to the unrestricted scholarship competition, students also had the option to use their travel and geography knowledge to compete in a travel- specific scholarship program for those interested in careers in the travel and tourism industry. State essay winners will receive a $1,000 scholarship and will go on to compete for a national essay award for a $5,000 scholarship.

Sponsors of the AAA Travel High School Challenge include Bank of America, Continental Airlines, Hard Rock Live, Marriott, Pleasant Holidays and Universal Orlando. More information about the competition is available at www.aaa.com/travelchallenge.

AAA Michigan offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to more than 1.6 million members in Michigan. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with approximately 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG belongs to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization with more than 50 million members in the United States and Canada.