Tift County 4-H’er named National LifeSmarts Student of the Year

Published 9:22 am Wednesday, June 12, 2024

The Tift County 4-H Team for the LifeSmarts competition included, from left, Pranav Shankar, Olivia Monfort, coach Ashley Carroll, team captain Coleman Mangham and Alex BirdSong.

TIFTON — This year’s National LifeSmarts Championship marked the 30th anniversary of LifeSmarts, the youth consumer education program of the National Consumers League. Forty-seven high school teams — consisting of 230 students — traveled from across the country to compete over four days in San Diego, California. For the second year in a row, Tift County 4-H had a team compete.

“This year’s Nationals was special because we are celebrating 30 years of the LifeSmarts program, with this year’s event being our largest competition to date,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “I want to congratulate all the teams and their coaches who came to San Diego to compete, learn from each other, and have fun!”

LifeSmarts is an education and scholarship program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. It competitively tests junior high, middle school and high school students’ knowledge of five topic areas including consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, health & safety, technology & workforce preparation, and the environment in online and in-person competitions using a quiz bowl-style format. LifeSmarts is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership with student leadership programs such as 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA.

Teens from each of the 47 teams represented at Nationals also competed as individuals, and the top-scoring student in each LifeSmarts topic received scholarships from NCL.

The Tift County 4-H Team was ranked second in the state of Georgia and earned a wild card to compete at Nationals. The team was made up of Coleman Mangham, captain, from Tiftarea Academy; Alex BirdSong and Pranav Shankar from Tift County High School; and Olivia Monfort from Tiftarea Academy. The team also had an honorary member, Bethany Hall, who helped earn the spot at nationals. The National LifeSmarts Team from Tift County was coached by Dr. Ashley Carroll, Tift County 4-H agent.

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Throughout the competition in San Diego, the team received many accolades. After several tough rounds of buzzer matches, speed smarts and team smarts, the team earned a spot in the “Sweet 16” matches. After being defeated by West Virginia, Tift County 4-H ended Nationals ranked fifth!

Mangham was named National LifeSmarts Student of the Year and received a $100 Amazon gift card. This year, Mangham served on the National L.E.A.P. Panel. L.E.A.P. (LifeSmarts Engagement Advisory Panel) is a panel composed of outstanding LifeSmarts students chosen through a yearly nomination process. L.E.A.P. members partner with national staff to provide youth voice for the LifeSmarts program. They create program ideas, provide advice on programming ideas and events, help promote LifeSmarts nationally and serve in key leadership roles at the National LifeSmarts Championship and other events. L.E.A.P. provides a forum for student leaders to have opportunities to enhance as well as to give back to the LifeSmarts program.

Tift County 4-H also received a $100 cash prize for being a top finalist in the anti-counterfeiting digital poster contest, sponsored by Amazon. The team was also recognized as a top finalist for the Over the Counter medicine safety video contest sponsored by Kenvue.

“Students who come to Nationals are some of the most dedicated and competitive students in the country. Their knowledge of consumer topics is vast, which is commendable because that is the goal we set for the LifeSmarts program — to be well-informed consumers,” said NCL Chief Executive Officer Sally Greenberg. “The information they acquire through this program will help them become savvy and well-informed consumers.”

Tift County 4-H thanked the many local donors and individuals who supported the team’s trip to Nationals. Sponsors of the 2024 National LifeSmarts Championship were Amazon, Kenvue, Norton, Discover, Tide, FICO, Comcast Universal, Melaleuca, AARP, Bayer, JP Morgan Chase, American Express, Washington State Employees Credit Union, and Zillow.

At Sunday’s closing ceremony, NCL announced that Chicago, Illinois will be hosting the 2025 National LifeSmarts Championship next year.

Georgia 4-H has a mission to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills and forming attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society. As the largest youth leadership organization in the state, 4-H reaches more than 200,000 people annually through University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices and 4-H facilities. For more information on volunteering or getting your child involved in 4-H programs like LifeSmarts, contact the Tift Extension office at uge4277@uga.edu or (229) 391-7980.