NEWS from AAA Oklahoma, March 21 2007 – Mark Nelson, a 12th-grade student from Oklahoma City, 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, Nelson will travel to Orlando, Fla., and represent Oklahoma in the nerve-wracking National Finals, where he will compete with other state winners from across the country.

The AAA Travel High School Challenge is designed 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 earlier this year. The top five scorers advanced to the Oklahoma state finals. Then earlier this month, Nelson scored the highest on a 40-question written, proctored exam taken by each of the five state finalists. Sample questions are available online at www.AAA.com/travelchallenge.

“We are thrilled for Mark – these questions are not easy,” said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma. “He will compete with the some of the nation’s brightest students at the competition in Orlando.”

“When so few Americans make education a priority in their travel decisions, it’s great to see so many students excelling in their travel and geographic knowledge,” said Krista Mullenger, AAA Oklahoma Travel vice president. “These skills make Travel Challenge participants the perfect candidates for future careers in the travel industry.

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 places will win $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 of 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.

The AAA Travel High School Challenge is the official scholarship competition of AAA Travel. With more than 1,000 accredited travel agency office locations nationwide (12 in Oklahoma), AAA Travel is the largest full service leisure travel agency in North America. AAA Travel provides domestic and international airline tickets, cruises, escorted tours, independent tour packages, hotels, car rentals and other travel products to members and nonmembers alike. Visit online at www.AAA.com/travel.