From "Shocked n' Appalled" to 11th in the Nation: Kalani's Historic Run at Academic WorldQuest
A team that swept Hawaiʻi's Regional competition carried that momentum all the way to Washington, D.C.
Ivan Tse still remembers the exact feeling of watching the final scores load on a screen in Washington, D.C. — that half-second of held breath before his team's name appeared, in bold, at 11th place overall. For four Kalani High School seniors who'd spent months poring over everything from FIFA World Cup host cities to the mechanics of the Belt and Road Initiative, it was the moment their season came full circle.
That season started back in March, when Ivan, Jayden Tran, Bryce Hara, and Anson Li — competing under the name Shocked n' Appalled — swept Hawaiʻi's Regional Academic WorldQuest at the Imin Conference Center, taking 1st place overall and dethroning Kealakehe High School's two-year reign as champions. The win came with a ticket to Nationals, courtesy of Southwest Airlines, and suddenly a team that had spent the spring studying coffee supply chains and soft power in a University of Hawaiʻi auditorium found itself preparing to represent the entire state on the national stage.
For Anson, the road there started with hesitation. "I was a bit hesitant at first," he admitted about signing up for the regional competition, crediting Ivan for talking him into it. Bryce tells a similar story with a laugh, recalling that he joined "reluctantly... just to get him to stop bugging me." Both said the decision became a defining part of their senior year. Bryce put it simply: the competition "made me feel like a more active, informed participant in the world we live in."
“(Participating in Academic WorldQuest) made me feel like a more active, informed participant in the world we live in.”
That shift — from reluctant recruit to engaged global citizen — is exactly what PAAC hopes to spark in every student who walks through Academic WorldQuest's doors. Jayden described Nationals as something that "provides a deep motivation which carries us into delving deep into learning about world issues," a motivation he hopes spreads to every Hawaiʻi team fighting for a spot at Nationals in years to come. In Washington, that meant late nights reviewing flashcards in hotel rooms, conversations with professionals working in the very fields the boys had only studied from afar, and new friendships with equally driven students from across the country.
Ivan called it a chance to make "a little bit of history" for Hawaiʻi's program — a nod to how rarely a team from the islands has carried the state this far into the national rounds. It's a history built one WorldQuest cycle at a time: first in a Mānoa auditorium against 18 other Hawaiʻi schools, then in the nation's capital against teams from across the country.
Kalani's team has since graduated, but their run — from a Regional sweep to an 11th-place finish nationally — leaves a marker for the next wave of Hawaiʻi students to chase.
If you know a student who thrives on curiosity, debate, and the occasional 2 a.m. flashcard session, PAAC's Academic WorldQuest program is where that spark turns into something bigger. Follow along as we introduce next year's teams — Hawaiʻi's story on the world stage is only getting started.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
This event would not be possible without the support of the Southwest Airlines. Their generous contributions help make these transformative experiences possible for students across Hawaiʻi.
