On February 23, 12 Lakehill Upper School students competed in the Academic WorldQuest Regional Competition at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Academic WorldQuest, a flagship program of the World Affairs Councils of America, engages more than 4,000 high school students annually across the U.S. to test their knowledge of global issues and foreign policy. This year's topics ranged from Peace and Conflict in Today's World to Global Megacities and Women in the digital age.
Freshman Jonah Shaw, juniors Ashley Peacock, Toni Perez-Stark, and Steven Murff, and seniors Tillie McCoskey, Noah Bernstein, Reid Chickering, Charlie Pippen, Allison Riemer, Chambliss Pierson, Lily Turner, and Zain Imam participated in the event. Lakehill fielded three teams out of the 78 in the competition. Teams answer 10 rounds of 10 questions in the assigned topics.
This was Lakehill's fourth year to compete in the event. "I am so proud of our teams this year," said sponsor Latricia Davis. "We had five teams competing for the three spots we were eligible to take. The competition was fierce, but our students finished ahead of more than the half the other teams."
Each member of the team selects specific topics of interest to specialize in for the competition. "It is fun to watch them become experts in their topics and get excited when they know an answer," said Davis. "I remember Allison Riemer jumping up and down in her chair when a question relating to her research appeared on the screen."
"Academic World Quest was a great way for Lakehill's team to test our knowledge about the events occurring all across the world," said senior Zain Imam. "It helps us become more informed citizens."