Posted on: Saturday, May 28, 2005

EDITORIAL
Iolani wins big at Economics Challenge

Students from Iolani School pulled off quite a coup this week in New York by besting the finalists in a field of 34,000 teams in the 2005 National Economics Challenge. The Iolani team had in the past made it to the final round of the prestigious competition, but in its first win the team demonstrated the benefits of rigorous training.

Seniors Justin Van Etten, Lara Malins, Tyler Mizumoto and Reed Ayabe, who won $3,000 each and a trophy at the finals, also graciously offered a tip of the hat to original teammate Steve Schowalter, part of the arduous climb to the top but unable to join them at the summit.

Faculty coach Richard Rankin acknowledged luck as helping propel his team to the top, but clearly this achievement spotlights Iolani's renown for scholastic excellence and competition, extending to academics excitement usually reserved for the athletic fields.

The team held daily research sessions and tracked current events in the business world, in preparation for this final push.

And the effort involved more than rote memorization: Analytical thinking and sharply honed math skills were needed to arrive at not only the plausible answers, but the correct ones. They have the talent needed to navigate through an increasingly complex world and, with a little of that other factor — luck — perhaps some of these standouts someday will invest their talents in the Hawai'i business world.