Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS

KA ʻOIHANA PILI KĀLEPA

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR | KE KIAʻĀINA

NADINE Y. ANDO

DIRECTOR | KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

TY Y. NOHARA

ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SECURITIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 3, 2023

Hawaiʻi Team Wins 2023 National LifeSmarts Championship

Historic win first for Hawaiʻi

HONOLULU –  A team of high school students from Maryknoll School were crowned as 2023 champions at the National LifeSmarts Championship on Sunday, April 30, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Maryknoll’s win marks the first-ever National LifeSmarts Championship for Hawaiʻi in the state’s 19 years of participation.

Representing the State of Hawaiʻi, Maryknoll placed first out of 42 teams from across the nation, outscoring students from Rhode Island, Georgia, and Pennsylvania in the championship match.

The 2023 National LifeSmarts Champion team members include: Chris Ho (team captain), Adam Nelson, Madelin Agustin, Benson Leung, Kaitlyn Mcleod-Asahan, and coach, Kit-U Wong. As first-place winners, each student received a $1,500.00 scholarship. The competition also includes an individual written assessment test on one of the five LifeSmarts subjects. Team captain Chris Ho received the highest overall score in the category of Technology, earning him an additional $500.00 scholarship from the National Consumers League.

“Maryknoll delivered an outstanding performance at the national competition,” said Acting Commissioner of Securities Ty Nohara. “We are proud of the team’s hard work and dedication. Their display of knowledge, and sportsmanship was an exceptional representation of our state. Congratulations Maryknoll, on your historic accomplishment!”

LifeSmarts is a free consumer education program designed to teach students in grades 6-12 about personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities. The Hawaiʻi LifeSmarts program is locally sponsored by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Business Registration Division and Insurance Division, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Credit Union League, and is run by the National Consumers League.

More information about the LifeSmarts program can be found at www.lifesmarts.org and www.LifeSmartsHawaii.com.

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Additional Photos and B-Roll available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vsVG5sPZPcURfZkovcLGqtN_OpaQIJ8y and on HISecurities Facebook.

Media Contact:
William Nhieu
Communications Officer
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Email: [email protected]
Office: (808) 586-7582