By Karen Phan, Staff Writer
Last Saturday, world geography honors students competed in the 2018 Academic WorldQuest competition hosted by the World Affairs Council of Orange County (WACOC) at Chapman University.
The Academic WorldQuest is a team competition that tests high school students’ knowledge of international affairs. Each team is made up of four students who answer a series of questions in 10 categories to accumulate points. The winning team advances to the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition held in Washington D.C. The competition is open to all high schools in Orange County, but only four high schools competed in the event. One high school is then sent to represent the WACOC in the nation’s capital this year.
Social studies teacher Julie Chaicharee found out about the competition through a friend and shared it with her world geography honors classes. Two teams registered to compete shortly after her announcement. Team One comprised of freshmen Justin Hsieh, Benjamin P. Nguyen, Benjamin V. Nguyen and Peter Sears. Team Two comprised of freshmen Cielo Chavarria, Anton Nguyen, Victoria Nguyen and Karen Phan.
The teams had one month to study 10 categories that cover contemporary and critical global and the United States’ foreign policy issues, such as the Peacebuilding Toolkit, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and climate change.
As it turns out, the students were competing against five teams of experienced sophomores, juniors and seniors from Corona del Mar High School (CDMHS), Irvine High School (IHS) and Marina High School (MHS). Because of this, they believed the odds were against them. Much to their surprise, they were ahead of several teams halfway through the competition.
“We experienced a change in expectations along the lines of ‘we’re going to lose, but it’s okay’ to ‘oh shoot we’re not half bad, we have a shot at third’,” said Hsieh.
During the lunch break, they gave each other words of encouragement and were determined to at least place third and fourth.
“The experience was nice and stressful at first, but really fun as we got the hang of it,” said Anton Nguyen.
The competition ended with MHS in the first place and CDMHS in second. FVHS’s Team One followed behind in third and Team Two in fourth. CDMHS’s respective team placed fifth, IHS placed sixth and MHS placed seventh.
“We expected to place last, so placing third and fourth came as a shock,” said Victoria Nguyen.
Both teams intend to compete again for the next three years, and their experience at the Academic WorldQuest leaves them with both memories and ways to improve in the future.
“Whether it be laughing at our epic fails, celebrating our improbable successes in lucky guessing or enjoying fun moments with the team, such as when Ben had to eat his crumbling sandwich with a fork, the competition fostered an overall light atmosphere of fun and enjoyment,” said Hsieh.
