By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

When Jordan Keoamphone captured first place and the right to represent Hawai'i in the national competition in Chicago, he didn't want to accept the award.

"It costs a lot of money," the Farrington High School senior told his teacher, Laura Sato.

Money that Jordan, the son of a Laotian immigrant, doesn't have.

Jordan works part time at Longs after school, but that money pays for his braces.

Jenny Abes, left, and Kathrina Guira make lavosh as a fund-raiser for a trip to Chicago for the Family Careers Community Leaders of America competition. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

This year, Farrington qualified 19 students, an unprecedented number, for the national Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) competition. The organization is the modern-day incarnation of Future Homemakers of America, and it's very hip and very demanding.

Club members spend grueling hours preparing for high-pressure culinary arts competitions; they do detailed research and create PowerPoint presentations on issues affecting the family, such as drug abuse and violence; they come up with, and have to justify and defend, complete entrepreneurial business plans. There's a lot of research, writing and public speaking.

And, in this scrappy group of hard-working, big-dreaming kids, there's also a lot of heart-wrenching stories.

Seniors Leslie Sison and Lawrence Pulido put together a PowerPoint presentation on the ice epidemic in their community. "The judges were blown away with all the information we had," Leslie said, "but they laughed at us. They said our computer was old." And it was ancient by today's standards — an 8-year-old laptop.

They were laughed at, but they still finished first.

While working on their research project, Leslie and Lawrence would often stay at school until 10 p.m. Sometimes later. On their way home, they'd pass by the drug house in their neighborhood that has been shown on the 6 o'clock news so many times. "We were writing about ice in school and looking at it right down the block," Lawrence said.

They may come from rough neighborhoods, but they can compete with the best.

Last year, in Philadelphia, Lawrence and Leslie took first place in the nation in the FCCLA "chapter showcase" category. They had the only perfect score.

Kimberly Baloran, right, prepares lavosh to help the Family Careers Community Leaders of America club raise money for a trip to Chicago. The club has to raise more than $33,000. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

On one page of the scrapbook is a picture of the Farrington students dressed in black pants, white shirts and ties. They're standing along a wall watching over the room while other students enjoy a formal dinner. The students seated at the tables are from Mid-Pacific Institute. The Farrington students were waiters at their dorm dinner.

"We helped cook and serve," Jerome said, "so we can practice our culinary skills."

Sonny Acosta joined the club specifically to hone those skills.

"His mother tells this story about him," teacher Linda Uyehara began and Sonny immediately covered his face with his hand and began laughing. "Since he was a little kid, he always wanted to cook. You know how kids get lost in a store and you can always find them in the toy aisle? Sonny's mother would always find him in the cooking aisle looking at the pots and pans."

Last summer, Sato helped Sonny get an internship at Padovani's, an upscale Italian restaurant. Sonny was supposed to get paid through a grant to the school, but when that grant money fell through, Sonny said he wanted to keep working anyway. He continued for months until a new source of money was secured last fall. He just wanted to learn.

Sonny and two others, Aian Dela Cruz and Amber Palisbo, will represent Hawai'i in the highly competitive "culinary arts" category, where they will have to create a three-course meal from recipes they've never seen before.

At the statewide competition, they had an hour to prepare almond and roasted garlic crusted mahi with fennel seed butter sauce, brunoise vegetable quinoa, sautŽed asparagus and cocoa cake.

Quinoa?

"That's a grain," Sonny said. He admitted he had never worked with, let alone heard of, quinoa until the day of the competition.

The work goes on after school and at night. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

For their winning project, Jericho Crisostomo, John Obuta and James Simon went to middle schools in their area to talk with kids about studying hard, staying in school and staying away from drugs. The three senior boys went all out, baking cookies for the kids, playing silly games with them, even performing a "positive message" rap. The middle-school students loved it.

"They were so interested in what we had to say. They were so focused," Jericho said. The team wrote up a report on their project, which they will present in national competition.

These students did all of this work after school, on weekends and in addition to their school assignments. Most of them also have part-time jobs.

"When the school day is done, they go home, eat, go to work, come back to school and stay until late in the night," Uyehara says.

Of course, when the students are there, the teachers are also there. Uyehara and Sato were at the school seven days a week for a month leading up to the statewide competition in March.

"They come, so what can we say?" Uyehara said. "They come, so we come, too."

Sato started the FCCLA club at Farrington 10 years ago despite a chorus of detractors, including Uyehara. "They told me it was too much work," Sato said. "They were right, but I didn't listen."

The club roster started with 10 students in the first year. This year, Farrington's club paid national dues for 150 members.

Now, the total focus is on raising the money to get the 19 students to the national competition in July in Chicago.

The Department of Education has limited money for student travel, so each participant has to come up with $1,165 for the trip. That's more than $33,000 that the Farrington club has to raise by April 30 — and that covers only the cost of airfare and hotel, not meals.

So they're baking up a storm now, after school and well into the night. The FCCLA club is making cookies and lavosh to sell at the Kapi'olani Community College Saturday Farmers' Markets.

"This is an experience of a lifetime for these students," Sato said. Uyehara agreed. "Kalihi may seem urban, but this is at heart, a country school."

Uyehara and Sato have stories about talking students through airport security screening questions ("They answer no to the question about 'did you pack your own bag' because their mothers packed their bags") and explaining that it's OK to use the shampoo in the hotel bathroom.

It's a long way from Kalihi to Chicago.

While they're trying to raise money, the students are also sharpening their presentations to compete in the big league. Jordan Keoamphone is rehearsing his speech on a career in nursing.

"One judge counted and I said 36 'ums' in 10 minutes," he said. "I'm working hard to not say 'um' so I can be smooth and I can be good."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8172.