Pennsbury High School's Lauren Bejzak Wins the Pittsburgh Citywide Competition of the Second Annual 'National Vocabulary Championship'

Pennsbury High School's Lauren Bejzak Wins the Pittsburgh Citywide Competition of the Second Annual 'National Vocabulary Championship'

Bejzak outperforms 88 other vocabulary scholars, winning $5,000 toward a higher education savings plan and qualifying to compete in the National Vocabulary Championship Finals in Los Angeles on March 10

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Lauren Bejzak, a 16-year-old junior at Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, outperformed 88 other local high school vocabulary scholars tonight, winning the NVC Philadelphia Citywide Championship. As the local champion, Bejzak earned $5,000 toward a "529" higher education savings plan and qualifies to compete in the "National Vocabulary Championship" Finals in Los Angeles on March 10, 2008.

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The National Vocabulary Championship is a national academic competition conceived by GSN (Game Show Network) and its educational partner, The Princeton Review. The competition goes beyond traditional 'spelling bees' to test word definitions and overall word comprehension while providing college-bound students with the tools necessary to effectively communicate their ideas to the world. The last of the eight NVC citywide qualifying events prior to the NVC Finals in LA, Bejzak will go head-to-head with 49 other top-scoring students from the more than 100,000 who participated throughout the country on March 10. The winner of the NVC Finals will receive $40,000 toward a "529" higher education savings plan and the title of 2008 National Vocabulary Champion.

Presented in partnership with Comcast Cable, tonight's live event was held at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia, PA. The event featured the top 89 scorers of the nearly 6,000 students who participated at the qualifying level from over 45 local area schools including: The Academy of Notre Dame, Bayard Rustin High, Central High, George Washington High, Hatboro-Horsham High, Jack Barrack Hebrew Academy, Olney High West, Pennsbury High, The Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson, The Philadelphia Military Academy at Leeds, Prep Charter High, Ridley High, Springfield High (in Delaware County) and Stephen A. Douglas High.

Bejzak sealed her victory in the third and final round by correctly identifying "quarry" as the word that can also mean "a rich and productive source" in the following sentence:

"The competitive baker sighted her quarry, a milquetoast comptroller whose decadent confections had triumphed at the last three Pillsbury Bake-Offs."

The knock-out-style round of vocabulary questions had begun with five finalists, of which Julian Malerman (Cheltenham High School) and Ethan Marshall (Bayard Rustin High School) placed second and third, respectively. As second- and third-place finalists, Malerman and Marshall will each receive Encyclopaedia Britannica's 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD as well as books and services from The Princeton Review. All of tonight's competitors were awarded one-year Encyclopaedia Britannica Online subscriptions from NVC sponsor Encyclopaedia Britannica.

A partner of this and many other educational initiatives in the area, Comcast Cable has again lent its support to the National Vocabulary Championship. "Comcast is committed to advancing education and literacy in the communities where we work and live," said Kathleen Sullivan, Comcast regional vice president of government and community affairs. "We applaud the thousands of Philadelphia students who participated in this year's NVC competition and look forward to seeing Lauren represent our region at the National Finals in March."

"Comcast has been a valued supporter and committed partner of the NVC's efforts to further promote education programs in schools throughout the Philadelphia region," said Dennis Gillespie, Senior Vice President of Distribution, GSN. "We're thrilled that so many students like Lauren have participated in cities across the country this year and wish her all the best as she prepares for the National Finals."

At the NVC Finals on March 10, Bejzak will join 42 of the top scorers of last weekend's National Qualifying Competition as well as Pittsburgh's John Oxenreiter (a 17-year-old senior at Mt. Lebanon Senior High School), New York's Rebecca Maxfield (a 16-year-old junior at New Rochelle High School), Northeast Ohio's Joel Fichter (an 18-year-old senior at St. Edward High School), Detroit's Steven Banks (a 17-year-old senior from Renaissance High School), St. Louis's Rajiv Tarigopula (a 15-year-old sophomore from Parkway West High School), Sacramento's Yvonne Lin (a 16-year-old sophomore from Folsom High School) and Nashville's Brian Swenson (a 16-year-old junior from Montgomery Bell Academy), each of whom won their own NVC citywide championships.

To learn more about the NVC, visit http://www.winwithwords.com/.

About the "National Vocabulary Championship"

GSN's National Vocabulary Championship (NVC) is a nationwide academic competition that offers high school students the opportunity to win money toward college tuition through local and national events. Created by GSN, along with educational partner The Princeton Review, the NVC is open to eligible high school students in the 50 United States and District of Columbia. The NVC is the cornerstone of GSN's award-winning "Win With Words" public service campaign dedicated to improving language arts skills in high schools by promoting the value of an enhanced vocabulary, providing free Princeton Review study materials and engaging students in wordplay. For free vocabulary study materials or for more information on GSN's National Vocabulary Championship, please visit http://www.winwithwords.com/.

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 the 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. Fifty finalists (eight citywide champions and 42 top scorers from the National Qualifying Competition) will win an opportunity to compete for $40,000 towards college tuition at the National Vocabulary Championship Finals. Void where prohibited. See Official Rules at http://www.winwithwords.com/ for complete details, including dates of NVC qualifying examinations and events, additional eligibility restrictions and prize descriptions/restrictions.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)(NASDAQ:CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast's Three Rivers Region serves 850,000 customers in four states, including Southwestern Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Northern Maryland. The region employs approximately 2,400 professionals and has been recognized by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of the best top 10 large companies to work and by the Pittsburgh Business Times for two consecutive years as one of the "50 Best Places to Work in Western Pennsylvania."

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CONTACT: Cindy Ronzoni of GSN, +1-310-255-6933, cronzoni@gsn.com

Web site:

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http://www.comcast.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos available at winwithwords.com or corp.gsn.com

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