JUNCTION CITY, Kan. - Four Junction City High School students have qualified for the 2024 National LifeSmarts Championship in San Diego, Calif. The Blue Jays FCCLA team, which consists of Armani Coleman, Macie Muto, Rilynn Hotard and captain Gracie Erichsen, recently claimed a Wild Card LifeSmarts competition title to qualify for nationals. By winning the wildcard, Junction City High School became the first team ever from the state of Kansas to be selected as a wildcard to compete at the national competition. In all, there were only five teams selected in the United States for the wildcard bid.
“We are very honored to be one of the five wildcard teams selected nationally to attend the championships and represent the state of Kansas, as well as Junction City High School,” said Joanna Erichsen, JCHS FCCLA coach. “This is such a great program for real life competition that they will use beyond high school and there are so many scholarships available that the team has applied for.” The quartet will now travel to San Diego the week of April 18-21 to compete against 48 other teams, nationally, for the right to be crowned the 2024
LifeSmarts Varsity Team National Champion. LifeSmarts, a consumer education and life skills competition, challenges teens about personal finance, health & safety, the environment, technology & workforce preparation, as well as consumer rights and responsibilities, is a program of the National Consumers League.
By Matt Hoover
USD 475 Communications Coordinator