Kealakehe High wins grand prize at Hawai’i WorldQuest Competition

Four Kealakehe High School students competed and won the 22nd annual Hawaiʻi Regional Academic WorldQuest competition earlier this month.

Coree Kobayashi, Luke Gee, Azalea Thorp, and Lucy Cameron from Kealakehe competed against more than 100 students from 15 public, private, and charter schools from Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island on March 1 at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center.

The Academic WorldQuest competition is a nationwide international trivia competition organized by the World Affairs Councils of America. In Hawaiʻi, the event is hosted by the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council.

Students were tested this year on their knowledge in six categories:

• “Music and Globalization”
• “Space and National Security”
• “Indigenous Peacebuilding”
• “Borders and Boundaries”
• “Country Focus: Mexico”
• “U.S. and Foreign Languages”

Each category had 10 multiple-choice questions, totaling 60 questions. Students worked in teams to answer each question in one minute.

Students were given a study guide to help them prepare and were encouraged to study as part of their Pacific and Asian Affairs Council extracurricular club or after-school classes.

Kobayashi, Gee, Thorp, and Cameron won the grand prize and will represent Hawaiʻi in the national competition in Washington, D.C. The trip includes paid airfare and hotel accommodations.

The National Academic WorldQuest Championship will feature a weekend of unique programming to enhance the global education experience and will give students an opportunity to meet about 250 like-minded peers from around the United States. The competition will be on Monday, April 28.