On April 6, 2024, Jesuit Dallas deployed 6 students to attend the annual UIL Academics District Meet hosted at Irving High School. These students are part of this year’s two teams: Current Issues & Events and Ready Writing. After taking burdensome exams, the Jesuit students received news of their triumphant successes in their respective competitions.
“The competition only gets tougher at regionals where we will face traditional powerhouses like Allen and Southlake Carroll, but I am confident our students will rise up to the challenge. This is their last year to compete, so I think it will be a great opportunity to add to their legacy at Jesuit.” – Mr. Yohannes
Brief Recap
Current Issues & Events
Seeking to win districts for the 2nd time as a Jesuit student, four Jesuit students competed against students from three formidable 6A schools. The Jesuit team consisted of seniors Grant Cooper, Daniel Mansur, Anthony Nguyen, and William Spicer (also a spelling competitor). Racing against time to complete 40-question multiple choice questions and a free response essay, the Jesuit students battled with relentless tenacity. In the end, the Jesuit Current Issues team reigned supreme over its competitors with a dominating 1st place finish.
On a special note, Grant won 1st in the individual objective score, as Anthony, William, and Daniel finished in 4th, 5th, and 7th respectively.
“We have a strong experienced senior team this year. This can sometimes be a challenge due to senioritis, but our students came prepared to give their best effort. Last year, we came in second to Highland Park, so I knew districts would be a challenge. I was very proud of our students for having the highest single objective score and the highest single essay score. We actually tied Highland Park for the team score, but beat them on a tie breaker due to our overall team effort.” – Mr. Yohannes
Ready Writing
Continuing the legacy of Mrs. Farrell’s past AP Lit pupils, juniors Lachlan Broad and Jake Chostner competed against students from Highland Park and Irving MacArthur. Lachlan and Jake were given two hours to craft an essay on one of two given prompts. Even though Lachlan and Jake secured 4th and 5th respectively in a nail-biting competition, both students displayed Jesuit’s continual cultivation of excellent writers.
“I am extremely proud of the students who competed in Ready Writing, Current Issues & Events, and Spelling and Vocab! In all contests, students placed in the top six, which is outstanding! Good luck to our first-place Current Issues and Events team as they compete at the Regional Meet on April 27! They are up against some stiff competition, but hopefully, they will come out on top once again!” – Mrs. Farrell
Spelling & Vocabulary
Representing Jesuit alone in the spelling competition, William Spicer undertook his task by completing a three-part exam: a 15-minute section of 30 multiple choice questions, hand-written spelling of 70 pronounced words read aloud to contestants, and a tiebreaker section of 20 additional pronounced words. Following his grueling task, William sealed a solid 5th place finish.
Student Perspectives
“I was pleasantly surprised to win 1st place in the objective score.” – Grant Cooper ‘24
“I was happy to witness a greater emphasis on international affairs in this year’s essay. I would like to attribute my success to Anthony Nguyen and his wonderful prep document.” – Daniel Mansur ‘24
“I thought the event was very meaningful. I am very proud of my team for winning first place in the Current Events category, and am excited to move on to the regional competitions.” – William Spicer ‘24
“It was a fun experience and a great opportunity to practice the skills we’ve learnt in our English classes.” – Lachlan Broad ‘25
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more news about Jesuit’s UIL Academics!
