LifeSmarts a Mile High – National Consumers League

By Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts Program Director

When I landed at the Denver International Airport Sunday during a snowstorm the locals were calling a “blizzard,” I knew that my Minnesota driving skills would come in handy on the windy, snow-packed highways. But what a difference a day makes – by Monday morning the sun was shining, everything was melting, and the Rockies were out in full force. It was a beautiful day for the rebirth of LifeSmarts in Colorado.

We had strong competition and the students demonstrated how hard they had been preparing for the LifeSmarts competition. Over the course of the morning team members completed individual assessments, answered six lightning rounds, and competed in three buzzer matches.

Students gained points for answering “water pick,” “FTC,” and giving a textbook description of the term “opportunity cost.” But my favorite answer of the day was to the question, “What does it mean if your can of tuna says it is dolphin safe?” The student who buzzed in answered, “It means it is safe to feed to your dolphin.” (Hint: not quite the answer we were looking for.)

The competition came down to the final match between Northglenn High School and Monarch High School, with Monarch winning the state title.

It was exciting to see a new state program taking shape, and it could not have happened without the tireless work of Dalene Bricker who organized the event, our gracious host DeVry University in Westminster, and Western Union which provided volunteers for the state competition and support to NCL to expand into five new states this year, including Colorado.