HEA TAAC Travel Grants

Partially Sponsored by Pi Lambda Theta-Beta Zeta Hawai‘i Chapter

Hawai‘i students who are members of their Teaching As A Career (TAAC)clubs in their high schools had opportunities to  showcase their skills, compete in a variety of friendly competitive events, and network with their peers from across the nation at conferences held over the summer.

HEA TAAC Travel Grants program, partially sponsored by Pi Lambda Theta-Beta Zeta Hawai‘i Chapter, helped to subsidize the costs of travel and accommodations for students from three Hawai‘i high schools. In addition to the competitive events, the students also had opportunities to visit historic landmarks at our nation’s capital. By all accounts, it was a great investment in these students who made all of Hawai‘i proud.

James Campbell High School
Layden Balisacan was one of three students from James Campbell High School who attended the annual Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) national leadership conference, held in Washington, D.C. from July 6 to 10, 2026. FCCLA is a national Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students in family and consumer sciences education. It is the nation’s #1 career preparation and workforce readiness organization for students pursuing careers in education and training and other fields. More than 10,000 students from across the nation, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, attended the conference.

Layden competed in the Focus on Children Level 3 event in last year’s FCCLA conference and was up to the challenge again this year. He showcased his lesson plans on the declining population of native plants in Hawai‘i, and earned a silver medal for his project.

“Not only did I want to share my project, but I also wanted to reconnect with the friends I made last year from different states,” he said. “I’m grateful to have experienced historical Washington, D.C. I’m fortunate that the highlights during my trip was going to the Capitol with the rest of Hawaii’s FCCLA team, the Library of Congress, and the different monuments.”

Leilehua High School
Leilehua High School students also made an impressive showing at the FCCLA conference. The Mules competed in different categories: Focus on Children, Leadership, Sports Nutrition, and Hospitality and Tourism. The students acknowledged the  support of their advisors: Cindy Abe, CTE coordinator; Keshawn Wright culinary advisor, and Lizchel Ugalde, state advisory.

• Allen Agbayani received a silver medal for Nutrition and Wellness Level 3 category for high school seniors;
• Nina Dace received gold medal and placed seventh nationally in the Focus On Children Level 2 category for sophomores;
• Lily Kam received a silver medal in the Focus On Children Level 3 for juniors;
• Reech Malanog received a gold medal and was top 10 finalist in the Focus On Children Level 2 for sophomores; and
• Karitza Sotomayor received a bronze medal in the Leadership Level 2 for sophomores.

While in Washington, D.C., the Leilehua students also squeezed in visits to the Capitol, Smithsonian National Zoological park,  Lincoln Memorial, and a Major League Baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.

“Attending my first FCCLA National Leadership Conference (NLC) was an unforgettable experience that contributed  significantly to my growth as both a leader and an individual. As a Hawaiʻi State Officer, I had the privilege of representing my  state, connecting with members from across the country, and learning from inspiring leaders who share a passion for service and leadership,” said Karitza Sotomayor, Hawai‘i FCCLA state vice president and Leilehua FCCLA vice president of membership. “Serving as a State Officer taught me that  leadership is not just about holding a title; it’s about supporting others, creating connections, and making a positive impact.”

“Evaluating various projects on similar topics deepened my appreciation for the high standard of leadership fostered among FCCLA members, including a project that used a board game featuring onomatopoeia to teach word sounds and another that
used origami to develop fine motor skills,” said Allen Agbayani, who volunteered as a student evaluator. “These examples showed me that leadership isn’t a simple formula; it’s about passionately executing your ideas. This experience has inspired
me to move away from rigid lesson plans that rely solely on lectures and worksheets.”

“Focus on Children is a project that is supposed to reflect your journey in impacting kids on a certain topic…As I worked through my project, I aimed to show my impact rather than the areas I wanted to improve (the data I wanted to improve),” reflected Nina Dace. “I believe this is a major factor that allowed our judges to be amazed and actually focused. It shows how clearly we worked with kids and the direct impact we had. I learned that it’s important to show more of how you made an impact rather than just put a bunch of information in your project.”

The Leilehua team is now looking forward to the state leadership conference at Ala Moana Hotel in February 2027, and national leadership conference in San Antonio, Texas, in June 2027.

Mililani High School
Mika Lynn Real and Mae Jean Ortogero of Mililani High School used their TAAC Travel Grants for the Educators Rising National Conference in Portland, Oregon from June 20 to 23, 2026.

“Placing in the top three was the biggest relief for me because it proved to me that we had the potential we thought we did and the work that we put into the board was justified,” wrote Mika in a reflection of her trip. “It was also Hawaii’s first year competing nationally and I think that it put us on everyone’s radar like “Oh they have talented and competent people too!” Thank you so much for providing the HEA travel grant so that we could experience a National competition and explore a
new city!”

“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to experience all of this and even take home third place for nationals,” said Mae Jean. “It was not only a blessing to me, but I hope a blessing for others who got to experience our aloha and passion for Hawai‘i. I am so thankful to have received the HEA travel grant. It was an amazing time, and I am so blessed to have been provided the opportunity.”