Students Prove Their Economics Smarts

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Waipahu High School teacher Lisa Sylva (center) holds the fourth-place trophy students (from left) Gabriel Miguel, Bryana Manzano, Lisa Furukawa and Robert Featheran won April 14 in the State Economic Challenge. Photo from Lisa Sylva.

Students from Waipahu High School shot to the top of the pack last month for a fourth-place finish at the statewide 2010 Island Insurance Companies Economics Challenge.

The challenge started out with 240 students submitting individual answers for multiple-choice questions on microeconomics (Round 1) and macroeconomics (Round 2). Rounds 3 and 4 were based on international economics and current events, and students could submit answers as a team.

The top four teams with the best scores move on to the Quiz Bowl, where the first team to score 10 points is the winner.

“Waipahu was the only public school to make it to the final four in the Quiz Bowl,” said business and economics teacher Lisa Sylva.

Challengers Robert Featheran, Lisa Furukawa, Bryana Manzano and Gabriel Miguel are either current or past business and economics students of Sylva. She prepared them with review sessions in the two weeks leading up to the one-day competition on April 14 at the UH-Manoa Campus Center Ballroom.

“I think they had fun,” said Sylva, noting that one of the juniors said he wanted to participate next year. “It’s a good opportunity for students to test their basic knowledge of economics.

“In between the competition they have games for students so they can get to know other students from other schools.”