Local high school students compete in 19th annual Academic WorldQuest Competition
Students from nine Coachella Valley high schools took part in the 19th annual Academic WorldQuest competition this past Thursday at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus.
The Academic WorldQuest event, sponsored by the World Affairs Council of the Desert, is a team competition in which students are challenged on their knowledge of world affairs.
The topics this year included NATO: Alliance and Collective Defense in a Changing World; The Global South; Women’s Contributions to Track II Diplomacy; Navigating AI: The Global Workforce; and Current Events.
Michael Karp, an assistant professor of history at the Palm Desert Campus and a member of the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of the Desert, facilitated and coordinated the event with assistance from Brenda Wallace, Kim Burge, Lisa Corbin, Tom Headrick, Gordon Kramer, Charles Porter, Priscilla Porter, & Karen Speros.
“It is an honor to organize WorldQuest, as it has become one of the key annual events at the Palm Desert Campus,” Karp expressed. “It’s such an exciting opportunity to host so many high schools on our campus each year and showcase the Indian Wells Theater and our programs.”
After five individual rounds and more than two hours of competing, Palm Desert High School students Sareen Bhakta, Kiamehr Karagah, Shaurya Mahajan, Tilda Rector, and Coach Patricia Lizza took the cake, finishing with a final score of 43 out of 50 points. The team will move on to compete against other high school teams throughout the country in the National Academic WorldQuest Competition on April 20.
The Xavier College Prep team– Jake Hermsen, Destiny Hernandez, Matthew Jugan, Sarah Macwan, and Coach Tonya Carr– captured second place, and Rancho Mirage high school students Lorelei Beyronneau, Paige Foster, Elyana Lewis, Micaela Sese. and Coach Kim Robinson took third place. This year’s competing high schools also included Coachella Valley High School, Desert Hot Springs High School, La Quinta High School, Palm Valley School, and Shadow Hills High School.
Scholarships were awarded to be split between students in the top three teams: first place, $300; second place, $200; third place, $100. Certificates of recognition were given to all participating team members.
For more information about the Academic WorldQuest, visit the World Affairs Council of the Desert website.
