On Wednesday May 17th, the state UIL academics competition was hosted at the University of Texas at Austin. Rouse had three teams competing at the state level, with Current Events and Social Studies placing first among all other contenders.
“It’s a pretty cool experience,” sophomore Marcus Vizy said. “You’re in a room with a lot of people from a lot of different places, all of them are very good at what they do. It’s just amazing that [we] could win, and stand and have everyone clap for us.”
The state victory continued a winning streak for the Social Studies and Current Events that followed them since competitions have started.
“[Competing] is both rewarding, [and] motivating,” AP US History Teacher and Current Events Sponsor Maxwell Lee said. “It’s always nice to win different competitions to validate all of the hard work that we’re putting into everything week to week, and then it serves as a point for us to do better because we don’t want to lose or let down in competition.”
Cedar park was close behind the Current event’s team since competition season started. They placed second at the district meet, only having one point between their team and first place. The state meet was no exception, with a 13 point different between 1st place [Rouse] and second place. [Cedar Park]
“We knew [the district meet] was going to be a close match, and it most certainly was,” Lee said. “[We go against] Cedar Park within our district, as well as in our region, they have a good team, and we kind of battle with them back and forth pretty routinely, so we kind of have a healthy rivalry with them. It’s fun to have a rival not only within our school district, but [one] that can carry out into all of our competitions, too.
Since the second semester began, students involved in UIL academics have been preparing and competing in a series of these meets that includes competitors in high schools from surrounding districts all over Texas. In order to continue a path to success, UIL teams prepare by doing work that takes place both inside and outside of school.
“Coach Hjort goes through every page in the [informational] book that we have to know, and types out questions about every couple paragraphs,” Vizy said. “[He’ll] have us come up on days off of school, and we’ll stay after school a couple times a week, [just] in preparation for competitions.”
However, the method of competition widely depends on the category one chooses to participate in. Current Events, Accounting, and Social Studies competitions all have portions of their competition that consist of multiple-choice questions in order to synthesize students’ knowledge on the topic. For example, Current Events assessments will cover ongoing incidents from news and media, delving into international and domestic affairs, war, education, science, technology, and the environment.
“[Current events] really prepares me for the future because I think it’s important for us to know what’s happening globally, and this just made me more interested in knowing every part of our world,” sophomore Staffina Alexander said. “ I’ve also been able to learn a lot about politics, especially in the United States as well.”
UIL, or the University Interscholastic League, was developed by the University of Texas in 1910. According to the official website, “It’s the largest inter-school organization of its kind in the world.” It offers a variety of academic and athletic competitions for students to compete in. Students interested in joining UIL have the opportunity to join their school’s teams and prepare for next year’s competition season.
“I learned that I can do a lot more than I think I can and that It’s not as stressful as I thought, ” senior Marissa Flores said. “I like how I can use my brain in a different way, and prove to myself that I do have these skills and capabilities. Sometimes, self-doubt gets in the way but it’s just a step forward to showing myself that I can do it.”