2015 LifeSmarts Competition: UPO Wins!

by Carilyne Vance

On March 13, 2015, forty students from across the District gathered at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law for the 2015 National Consumers League’s LifeSmarts quiz-bowl competition. LifeSmarts is a competitive program and educational tool available for students in grades 6-12 that teaches the consumer literacy skills needed to succeed in today's marketplace. LifeSmarts covers: Personal Finance, Consumer Rights & Responsibilities, Technology, Health & Safety and the Environment. 

With a spirited finish, the team from the United Planning Organization snatched a close victory from the McKinley Technology team.  The United Planning Organization team, which is comprised of students from McKinley Tech and the Academia de la Recta Porta, will now represent the District of Columbia during the national competition, April 17 – 20, 2015 in Seattle, Washington.

2015 LifeSmarts District Champions – the United Planning Organization 

Second Place Team – McKinley Technology Education Campus

 Third Place Team – Academia de la Recta Porta

One of many outreach programs of the Center for 4-H and Youth Development, this year’s LifeSmarts competition was home to numerous teams from the McKinley Technology Education Campus, the United Planning Organization, the Columbia Heights Educational Campus and the Academia de la Recta Porta. These teams began the competition by besting their peers from across the District of Columbia in an online competition. The highest scoring teams were then invited to compete in the live round by round competition held at the David A. Clarke School of Law.

There, teams of High School students, supported by adult coaches, represent their states or organizations and compete for prizes which include cash, merchandise and academic scholarships and eventually the National LifeSmarts Championship. Students competed by completing individual assessments, complete team problem-solving activities such as “Speed Dating the Experts,” and in four quiz bowl matches order to gain points for correctly answering questions about cyber-security, credit reports, recycling, nutrition, consumer fraud and other consumer related topics. 

For more information on the Center for 4-H and Youth Development, please visit www.udc.edu/causes.