By Justin Hsieh, Staff Writer
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) is well known for its successful academic system and athletic programs. What most people often overlook, however, are its variety of highly competitive extracurricular academic organizations. This fall, the FVHS academic clubs are ready as ever for a new season of competition. See how our mathletes, lawyers, techies, and businesspeople alike are shaping up for the year.
Academic Computer Science Club
For students who are fascinated by code, computers and robots, the Academic Computer Science Club (ACSC) at FVHS is a perfect place. Led by senior President Vivianne Le, ACSC aims to serve an accessible outlet for students interested in computer science.
“Computer science is a very popular field and it’s going to keep growing larger every year,” said Le. “We have computer science classes on campus but they all have really long waitlists, so we want to provide a way for people to explore their interest. [At meetings,] we have lessons on computer science, like cryptography and the deep web, and activities on chromebooks.”
In addition to its general meetings, ACSC also has three teams that participate in three categories of competition: e-sports, cybersecurity and robotics.
“[For the e-sports team,] members can try out to play either Overwatch in the fall or League of Legends in the spring. They can also try different roles in e-sports such as shoutcasting, graphic design, or finding sponsors,” said Le. “[In the cybersecurity team,] members compete in teams to get rid of all the security flaws in simulated computers running on different operating systems including Ubuntu Linux, Windows 10, Windows 7, and Cisco. We also compete in the FRC (First Robotics Competition), designing and building a robot geared towards a different game scenario every year.”
Le has high goals and expectations for ACSC this year, and is looking to continue the strong path of development that the club followed last year.
“I’m optimistic that all our teams will do really well this year. Despite not having the same resources as some other schools, all our teams managed to do well last year and e-sports even won the OCHSEL (Orange County High School Esports League). This year, we’re much better prepared and I’m confident [that all our teams will succeed],” said Le. [My goal] is to establish a reputation for the club, since a lot of people don’t really know what it is. If you’re interested, don’t be afraid to join even if you’re a beginner!”
ACSC meets at lunch on Tuesdays in Room 117. They can be found on Instagram @fvhsacsc.
Academic Decathlon
For those students who don’t exactly know what they’re interested in, but want to try something new and be involved in a competitive academic group, Academic Decathlon may be the answer.
“[Academic Decathlon is] an academic club that basically studies a topic, and around that topic are ten subjects that we study. Then we compete against other schools in the county and later on in the state. We run our meetings kind of like a class, so every meeting we have a presenter who’s teaching our club material, and everyone is paying attention and taking notes because we have so much to learn. We spend a lot of meetings learning, making sure everyone is on the same page and practicing our testing so that we can get ready for competition,” said senior President Hoangsa Nguyen.
The 2018-2019 topic for Academic Decathlon teams across the country was recently revealed to be “The 1960s: A Transformational Decade.” As the FVHS team prepares to tackle this latest topic, Nguyen feels confident in their chances for the year.
“This year, I definitely have really big plans for our club,” said Nguyen. “We are a Division 1 team, and one of my goals is to be able to reach the top five in Division 1 for our county and later be able to compete in the state competition. Realistically, I think we have really high chances because our club last year ranked in the top 10 and I think we have a really good chance of top five this year. I think all we have to do is just be more prepared, test a little bit more and make sure kids are ready and feel confident in themselves.”
Although Academic Decathlon may seem daunting, Nguyen emphasizes that it is really nothing to stress about.
“For all the kids interested in joining our club, I want to say don’t be intimidated. At other schools, Academic Decathlon students are training harder because it’s a class and they need to get a good grade. Here, as a club, we know that all of our kids are volunteering their own time because they want to learn more, be with each other, help the team out and represent our school. We are not just a team but we’re a family as well, so we want to accept everyone and make sure that you have a good time in our club. ”
Academic Decathlon meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room B1.
Future Business Leaders of America
For students looking to pursue a career in business and learn more about the many options that await them, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) has just what you need.
“What we do as a club is we prepare you for regional and state level business competitions,” said senior President Han Nguyen. “At meetings, we have presentations about competition events and how to register for competitions. We also have monthly study sessions where we talk about broad business subjects to help prepare our students to narrow down their career to a specific interesting business.”
Like many of the academic clubs at FVHS, FBLA is somewhat disadvantaged in comparison to programs at other schools because it is a club, not a class. Despite this, Nguyen is determined and optimistic about the club’s chances this year.
“Although the truth is that a lot of the schools that go to state and nationals have FBLA as a class curriculum, last year we were still able to have six members go to the state competition, and I think that says a lot. This year I want to do better, and get ten people to state. In the future, I hope that FBLA at our school will grow not only as a club but later as an academic curriculum so we can compete with other, bigger schools in Orange County who have a stronger hold on FBLA as an organization,” said Nguyen.
Beyond competition, Nguyen’s primary goal is to be able to provide a community where students have the freedom and ability to follow their business interests.
“I would say never be intimidated by any academic club. When a lot of people think of academic clubs, they think ‘oh, there’s too much studying,’ or ‘oh, I’m not smart enough for this,’ but the truth is that the entire point of an academic club is just to feel your interests. And, as far-fetched as it may seem, studying is not so bad when you enjoy the subject, and don’t have to work for a grade. So what we want to do is encourage students to foster an interest in business and genuinely develop a passion for it.”
FBLA meets at lunch on Mondays in Room 220. They can be found on Instagram @fvhs.fbla.
Math Olympiad
Mathematicians at FVHS who crave a chance to pursue their passion outside the classroom will find a home in Math Olympiad.
“The purpose of Math Olympiad is to provide opportunities for students looking to advance their skills in math and develop critical thinking skills, through math competitions,” said senior President Anton Than. “We’re going to have practice sessions in which people can practice for competition. At competitions, we solve challenging math problems and compete against other schools for rankings.”
Math Olympiad competes in several main competitions, including the monthly Math League competitions, which are held at FVHS and take place online; the Caltech Harvey Mudd competition in December; and the AMC 10/12 competition in February, which is held at FVHS. Than, who is confident in the club’s chances this year, hopes to be able to expand their list of competitions in the future.
“I feel like our club has a strong chance this year because we have a lot of new members who are competing. My goal for the club is to keep competing in these events so we can pay for more competitions next year, and just built up a strong foundation for the future,” said Than. “[I would tell interested students] that you don’t necessarily need to be good at math to join our club; you just need to have perseverance and we’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
Math Olympiad meets at lunch on Wednesdays in Room 226.
Mock Trial
Students interested in debate and the law will love the highly successful FVHS Mock Trial team. Led by senior Captain Ian Hsu and junior captain John Le, the goal of Mock Trial is to compete against other teams in a simulated legal battle.
“At meetings we build cases for our respective sides (defense and prosecution) and practice our arguments against each other while receiving feedback from our coaches,” said Hsu. “At competitions, we compete with other teams by arguing our cases – interviewing witnesses, objecting to unfair questioning, building a case for guilt or innocence while simultaneously trying to destroy our opposition’s case.”
Every year, the Mock Trial team aims to make it past the 4 normal season competitions to the postseason and ultimately to state level competition. Although this year most of the club is new to Mock Trial, Hsu believes that the club has a good chance of success.
“One of our strengths is that because many people are new, nobody is discouraged from working because everyone has something new to learn. This year we also recruited a new Attorney Coach, who is working diligently to help our team get onto a competitive level. Although this year we will go into competition as underdogs, I feel we can still work as a strong unit and beat those who underestimate our power,” said Hsu.
To students interested in joining Mock Trial, Hsu says not to be afraid of the commitment or the competition.
“It’s extremely rewarding and fun when you bond with your team,” said Hsu. “I want people to understand that they do not have to be perfect in public speaking, analyzing court cases, or Mock Trial-ing; all they have to do is be prepared and ready to learn.”
During season, Mock Trial meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Room 131.
Model United Nations
For students who are politically-minded, have broad interests, or enjoy working with others, Model United Nations (MUN) offers the ideal environment. Led by junior President Jeffrey Carr, MUN aims to develop students’ critical thinking, public speaking, research and debate skills by simulating the actual United Nations. Competitions, called conferences, are aimed at coming up with a solution to a real-world problem.
“This year we have an exciting schedule of conferences planned for our delegates to attend. Our first is our intro conference at Cerritos High School in October. After that, we are attending UCLA in November, Edison High School in January, Laguna High School in March and UC Berkeley in April,” said Carr.
Following a disappointing 2017-2018 year, Carr hopes that new membership and revitalized leadership will take the club to success.
“With an increase in membership from last year by over 400%, our club is extremely enthusiastic,” said Carr. “I feel that our team has the potential to win awards at every conference we attend, and the board and I intend on creating a fun atmosphere for that to happen. We plan on giving each delegate the tools they need to succeed in each of their committees, and we want to create a creative group that is willing to be their best in all circumstances.”
To students interested in joining MUN, Carr has a simple message.
“MUN may seem like a difficult task to take on, but there is a reason why hundreds of thousands of students across the U.S. do it. MUN is FUN,” said Carr.
MUN meets at lunch on Mondays in Room 406. They can be found on Instagram @fvhsmun.
Science Olympiad
For science-minded students of all kinds, Science Olympiad is an excellent place to put your skills into use.
“In Science Olympiad, we basically go to invitational competitions and regional competitions once or twice a year – usually in February or January – and we compete in each event and test how much we know about our topics,” said senior President Anju Ito. “We can participate in building events, where we build something beforehand and bring it into competition, or test events, where we study and then write or do experiments at the competition.”
This year, Ito is confident in the club’s ability to succeed.
“This year, we’re doing two or three invitationals and we’re doing the regional competition,” said Ito. “Hopefully we get in the top 10, but I know there are other really strong high schools we’re competing against. I feel strong about our chances, though, because there are senior members who have been here since sophomore years and I know they’re really solid.”
Science Olympiad meets on Thursdays in Room 241.
Speech and Debate
Students seeking to improve their public speaking abilities in the most direct way possible can do so in FVHS’s brand-new Speech and Debate team. Started this year by junior President John Le, the club has a strong outlook for its inaugural season.
“Our purpose is to promote public speaking in competitive areas, so we promote students to make speeches, do debates, and be more comfortable speaking with others,” said Le.
At the CalState Long Beach Jack Howe Memorial Tournament, the club’s first ever competition, the debate team came within 0.1 points of victory, and the speech competitor placed fifth. Given this first performance, Le feels confident about the club’s chances.
“I think we’re going to do pretty well this season, because after this tournament we know everything we need to know, we understand the expectations, and we know how to handle these tough competitions,” said Le. “My goal is just for everyone to have fun because debate and speech can be stressful but the goal is to learn and have fun.”
Speech and Debate meets at lunch on Wednesdays in Room 135. They can be found on Instagram @fvhsspeechanddebate.
Virtual Enterprise
For students who want to gain business skills and experience, Virtual Enterprise (VE) offers a chance to dive right into the business world.
“Basically what the club does is we create a virtual company that runs in this nationwide virtual market,” said senior Vice President Vivian Le. “We compete in different competitions with different schools on aspects of business such as marketing plans, elevator pitches, business plans, commercials, and things like that.”
This year, VE plans on attending three competitions (called conventions), in San Diego, Bakersfield and Pasadena. If they place in the top 6 at the state competition in Bakersfield, they will be able to advance to the nationwide competition in New York.
“I feel very confident that we’ll win this year. Last year I was part of the business plan team and we made top 8, only two places off of qualifying, so I really feel like this is going to be our year and we’re going to make it to New York again,” said Le. “My goal personally is to overlook every department and make sure they’re able to win in their respective competition. I want to make sure everything we put out is top quality, so everybody has the opportunity to get a gold rank in whatever they compete in.”
Le emphasizes that VE has something for everyone, be it writing, speech, or art. She hopes that students will be able to find the competition meant for them, and have the opportunity to contribute to something really big for FVHS.
VE can be found on Instagram @fvhsve.
