[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17064-17065]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING HAWAII PARTICIPANTS IN 2004 ECONOMICS CHALLENGE

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I congratulate the team of 
students from Iolani School of Honolulu, HI, for logging a national 
accomplishment in the National Economics Challenge recently held in New 
York City. The team traveled over 5,000 miles to represent not only 
Hawaii, but the western region in the competition, at which they 
achieved a second-place finish in their category, the David Ricardo 
division, which is for students enrolled in single-semester economics 
courses.
  The National Economics Challenge is sponsored by the National Council 
on Economic Education, NCEE, and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, which 
created the Challenge in 2000 to promote student interest in economics, 
reinforce classroom instruction, advance academics, and reward 
scholarship. Preliminary rounds began in April with more than 3,600 
students on over 700 teams participating in 33 State and 4 regional 
competitions. I commend the Hawaii Council on Economic Education for 
sponsoring the State-level competition in my State and, on a constant 
basis, training teachers and working to improve economic and financial 
literacy in Hawaii's schools. Student teams in the final round at the 
national level faced difficult questions on complex economic concepts 
and theories involving microeconomics, macroeconomics, international 
economics, and current events. The final round of the competition was 
held before a crowd of hundreds at the New York High School of 
Economics and Finance in Manhattan. The Iolani team competed and placed 
second in their division, for which I congratulate them wholeheartedly.
  As a former teacher and principal, I am aware of the many hours of 
work that these students dedicated to develop the necessary knowledge 
to participate in this national competition. They have surmounted many 
challenges at the State, regional and national levels, and have emerged 
with not only a placing finish to show for it, but also the experiences 
and memories of all they have learned along the way. Economic and 
financial education are crucial components needed to build our future 
leaders, and I applaud all students who participate in this competition 
for their hard work.
  I am pleased to enter the names of the Iolani team members for the 
Record: Stephani Le, Kimberlee Collins, Kyle Sombrero, and Brando 
Inouye. I also take this opportunity to recognize their coach Richie 
Kibota for his contributions in helping the Iolani team prepare for the 
national competition. Of particular interest are their classmates and 
peers who rose to the same challenges, whose names I would also like to 
enter into the Record. This includes another Iolani School team who 
competed and placed at both State and regional levels in the Adam Smith 
division for advanced placement, international baccalaureate, and 
honors students, with team members Jeffrey Lawi, Brad Kawitaki, Ronald 
Kwok, Keone Nakoa, and Krystal Ching, and coach Dick Rankin. Also 
included are other Hawaii State participants: a third team from Iolani 
School and other teams from Kamehameha Schools, Maryknoll School, 
Kaimuki High School, and Nanakuli High and Intermediate School.
  Again, I congratulate the students and the faculty of Iolani School, 
and I join the people of Hawaii in expressing my pride in their 
impressive achievements. It is these types of efforts that are 
supported by the Excellence in Economic Education Act, and these kinds 
of efforts that will ensure that our students and future leaders have 
the tools they need to make wise economic and financial 
decisions.

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