‘Iolani Wins Hawai‘i LifeSmarts State Competition

The Hawai‘i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs announces that the team from ‘Iolani School won the 14th annual Hawai‘i LifeSmarts state competition.  The game-show style competition, which was held at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Campus Center Ballroom, tested the students on their knowledge of personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities.

‘Iolani, Maryknoll, Roosevelt and Waiākea High Schools earned their spot at the competition by being the top four scoring teams from the preliminary online competition. The in-person competition consisted of written tests, a “speed smarts” activity, and gameshow style buzzer rounds.  As the 2018 state champions, ‘Iolani School will go on to represent Hawai‘i at the National LifeSmarts Competition in San Diego, California from Saturday through Tuesday,  April 21 to 24, 2018.  The team was coached by James Rubasch.  Members of the team are: Kevan Elias (team captain), Bryson Choy, Norton Kishi, Sean Callahan and Vance Hamada.

“It’s great to see how much the Hawai‘i LifeSmarts program has grown,” said Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Director Catherine Awakuni Colón.  “Since 2004, DCCA has enrolled over 1,400 high school students and 139 coaches from across the state. This year, we saw our largest enrollment in the JV program with 234 students signed up.  We congratulate all the teams that participated today and we wish ‘Iolani the very best as they go on to represent our state at the national competition in April.”

“We are very proud of all the students and coaches who participated in the Hawai‘i LifeSmarts program this year,” said Securities Commissioner Ty Nohara.  “We work hard to ensure a quality program and it wouldn’t be possible without our staff, volunteers, and especially our generous sponsors.”

LifeSmarts is a free educational program that prepares students to enter the real world as smart consumers by teaching them the skills needed to succeed in today’s global marketplace. The program was created by the National Consumers League and sponsored locally by the DCCA Office of the Securities Commissioner, in partnership with the Hawaii Credit Union League.

Local sponsors for the 2018 Hawai‘i State Competition include:

• Aloha Pacific Federal Credit Union
• Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific
• Big Island Federal Credit Union
• Butigroove
• Cisco
• Coastal Construction Co., Inc.
• Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division
• Department of the Attorney General, Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division, Community and Crime Prevention Branch
• Farmers Insurance Hawaii
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), San Francisco Regional Office
• Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools (HAIS)
• Hawai‘i Community Federal Credit Union
• Hawai‘i Construction Alliance:
  • Hawai‘i Regional Council of Carpenters
  • International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers, Local 1
  • Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 368
  • Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3
  • Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ Union, Local 630
• Hawai‘i Council on Economic Education (HCEE)
• Hawai‘i Credit Union League
• Hawai’i Dental Service (HDS)
• Hawai‘i Government Employees Association AFSCME, Local 152 (HGEA)
• Hawai‘i Information MLS
• Hawai‘i Medical Service Association (HMSA)
• Hawai‘i Prince Hotel
• Hawai‘i State Federal Credit Union
• Hawai‘i State Teachers Association (HSTA)
• HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union Foundation
• Honolulu Fire Department Federal Credit Union
• Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i
• Kualoa Ranch Hawai‘i, Inc.
• Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union
• O‘ahu Federal Credit Union
• OtterBox
• Outrigger Hotels
• Pasha Group and Pasha Hawai‘i
• Schofield Federal Credit Union
• Toshiba Business Solutions
• United Public Workers AFSCME, Local 646 AFL-CIO (UPW)
• University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Financial Literacy Program
• University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE)

Visit the LifeSmarts Hawai‘i website for more information.