Boston Latin Academy's Richard Goggin Wins the First-Ever 'National Vocabulary Championship' Boston Competition

Boston Latin Academy's Richard Goggin Wins the First-Ever 'National Vocabulary Championship' Boston Competition

Goggin Outperforms 74 Other Top Vocabulary Scholars and Wins $5,000 Toward a Higher Education Savings Plan and Qualifies to Compete in March at the National Vocabulary Championship Finals in New York

Local Dignitaries in Attendance Included Boston Schools Superintendent Michael Contompasis, Northeastern School of Education Acting Dean and Director Thomas Gilbert and City Councilman John Tobin

BOSTON, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Richard Goggin, a 17-year-old junior at Boston Latin Academy, outperformed 74 other local vocabulary high school scholars tonight, winning the first-ever NVC Boston Citywide Championship. As the local champion, Goggin earned $5,000 toward a 529 higher education savings plan and qualifies to compete in the "National Vocabulary Championship" finals in New York City on March 5, 2007.

The National Vocabulary Championship is a nationwide educational initiative conceived by television network GSN that aims to promote the importance of vocabulary skills in school, at work and at play. Along with its educational partner, The Princeton Review, the NVC is hosting eight citywide events prior to the New York City finals. The finals will feature Goggin as he competes head-to-head with 49 other students from around the country to win $40,000 toward a 529 higher education savings plan and be named the "National Vocabulary Champion."

Tonight's live event, sponsored by Comcast Cable, was held in the ballroom at the Northeastern University Curry Student Center and featured 75 high school students aged between 13-and-19 from the following local schools: Academy of Public Service, Boston Community Leadership Academy, Boston Latin Academy, Brighton High School, Brook Farm Business and Service Career Academy, Community Academy, Community Academy of Science and Health, East Boston, Excel, Greater Egleston Community, Jeremiah E. Burke and Urban Science.

On hand lending support to the event were such dignitaries as Boston Schools Superintendent Michael Contompasis, Northeastern School of Education Acting Dean and Director Thomas Gilbert and City Councilman John Tobin.

Goggin sealed his victory by correctly answering eight of the ten final round questions in the fastest time -- one minute and 17 seconds. The final round featured NVC host Dylan Lane, who also serves as host of GSN's television series "Chain Reaction," reading different paragraphs to the last seven competitors. The final contestants answered a myriad of questions involving specific words in their respective paragraphs. The questions focused on synonyms, antonyms and definitions. The contestant who responded with the most correct answers in the shortest period of time under the two-minute time limit was the winner. The runner-up to tonight's contest was Kadian Simmonds, a 17-year-old senior also from Boston Latin Academy. Simmonds answered six questions correctly in one minute and 42 seconds.

On March 5, Goggin will be joining such other recent NVC citywide championship winners as Noah Berman, a 15-year old sophomore from Metro Classical and Academic High School in St. Louis and Daniel Weber, a 17-year-old senior from Keystone Oaks High School in Pittsburgh.

"GSN is taking the NVC across the country to raise awareness of the importance of language arts in the classroom," said Dena Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Marketing, GSN. "We're investing in America's future by providing money for college to winning students as well as making vocabulary fun and relevant in the game of life. We are thrilled that we will be seeing Richard Goggin at the national finals in March."

Comcast has lent support since August by airing "Win with Words" public service announcements. Celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Probst, Tom Bergeron and others joined the network in filming these PSAs that encourage high school students to expand their vocabulary and, in turn, their opportunities in life.

"It's very exciting to be able to combine the community, education and our cable products for such an enjoyable and educational event," said Vic Pascarelli, Area Vice President of Comcast's Boston system.

To learn more about the NVC, log on to www.winwithwords.com for more information.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR PARTICIPATE IN THE NVC. Open only to high school students who are legal residents of the U.S., between the ages of 13 and 19 as of the date of each applicable NVC exam and/or event. Minors in their state of residency must provide written consent from their parent or legal guardian to be eligible to advance to an NVC citywide championship or regional exam. Void where prohibited. Please visit www.winwithwords.com for complete details, including dates of NVC qualifying examinations and events, additional eligibility restrictions and prize descriptions/restrictions.

About "Win With Words(TM)"

GSN's Win With Words public service campaign is designed to promote the importance of vocabulary skills in one's life no matter the age. Words play an important part in education, careers, communication and even being a contestant on a game show. The Win With Words campaign includes study materials, words of the day, and other elements that improve language arts year-long. These educational features can be found on the website www.winwithwords.com. Celebrities who appeared in the Win With Words(TM) public service announcements include Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst, Chuck Woolery and Shandi Finnessey.

About GSN

GSN is the only U.S. television network dedicated to game-related programming and interactive game playing. The network features game shows, reality series, documentaries and casino games. As the industry leader in interactivity, GSN features over 133 hours per week of interactive programming, which allows viewers a chance to win prizes by playing along with GSN's televised games via GSN.com. Reaching 60 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S. through all major cable systems and satellite providers. The network is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further media information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review (NASDAQ:REVU) is a pioneer in the world of education. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, the Company offers private tutoring and classroom and online test preparation to help students improve their scores in college and graduate school admissions tests. The Company's free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, helps over half of university-bound students research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for their higher education, and helps hundreds of colleges and universities streamline their admissions and recruiting activities. In addition, The Princeton Review works with school districts around the U.S. to measurably strengthen students' academic skills by connecting ongoing assessment with professional development and instruction and by providing districts with college and career resources for both students and guidance counselors. The Company also authors more than 200 print and software titles on test preparation, college and graduate school selection and admissions, and related topics.

About Comcast Cable

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation, the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 23.3 million cable customers, 10 million high-speed Internet customers and 1.6 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's Northern Division serves 3.5 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New York, Connecticut, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and Northern West Virginia. The division is based in Manchester, New Hampshire, and employs more than 9,000 professionals.

Photos available at winwithwords.com or corp.gsn.com

Source: GSN

CONTACT: Deborah McBride of GSN, +1-310-633-4175, dmcbride@gsn.com

Web site: http://www.winwithwords.com/

Web site: http://www.princetonreview.com/

Web site: http://corp.gsn.com/

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