REMINDER

2016 Academic WorldQuest State Championship Match

Belmont University

Wedgewood Academic Center Conference Room (4th Floor)

Corner of Wedgewood Avenue and 15th Avenue South, Nashville

[Change of Previously Set Building and Room]

12:30 p.m. Check-in

1:00 p.m. Start time

The competition takes about 3 1/2 hours including mid-match break.  Everyone is welcome.

Parking information:

There is a parking garage below the Wedgewood Academic Center. Enter near the corner of Wedgewood Avenue and 15th Avenue South (entrances from both streets). Take the north bank elevator to the 4th floor.

CAMPUS MAP

Need more info? Call: 931-261-2353

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The Tennessee Academic WorldQuest Championship Match is set for February 21st with ten teams ready to compete. WorldQuest is a flagship program of the Tennessee World Affairs Council and the 95 other members of the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) network. It encourages high school students to develop an interest in global affairs and current events through study and a competition for four-student teams. This is the fourth WorldQuest season for the World Affairs Council. The program is being resumed after a hiatus as the Council relocated to Nashville last year.

The 2012 WorldQuest match at Belmont University.

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The Tennessee World Affairs Council assists teachers in organizing WorldQuest teams with study materials and practice competitions throughout the year. We also publish a weekly quiz [Link] that gives students an opportunity to prepare for the current events portion of the competition as well as keeping up with, well, current events. The Council’s Twitter is the source for the current events items and you are welcome to follow @TNWAC to keep up. You can also compete in the weekly quiz for fame and fortune — our monthly drawing among winners is always a great prize. [Details are on the TN WAC Web site [Link]]

The winning WorldQuest team and their teacher/coach are rewarded with a trip to Washington, DC in April to compete in the WACA national championship match on April 23rd. That trip includes visits to a host of international affairs venues in the nation’s capital, such as embassies, think tanks, NGOs, Capitol Hill and others as well as some time for sightseeing.

The 2016 National WorldQuest Match will be held at the National Press Club, Washington, DC on April 23rd.

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Let us introduce you to the teams that will be competing for this year’s State Championship. First we should mention there’s a new wrinkle on the field of competitors this year. Teams from Alabama and Georgia applied for our competition as we were the nearest World Affairs Council to them that offered WorldQuest. Since our Council believes that everyone should be encouraged to ‘know the world’ mere statelines should not be an impediment. So this year we’ll be hosting something of an ‘SEC’ match.

Before introductions may I ask that you support WorldQuest with a donation. Our nonprofit, nonpartisan educational charity cannot do what we do without your support. So take a second to visit our Web site where you can make a contribution. [Link]

The first Tennessee WorldQuest match was held in Cookeville at Tennessee Tech University.

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We’ll start with the students from Martin Luther King, Jr., Magnet High School in Nashville. MLK students won our inaugural WorldQuest championship match and we still recall the feedback from one of the student’s mothers. She said she wasn’t sure what sorts of things her son got to do on the Washington trip but he told her it was the “best thing he did in four years of high school.” Here’s this year’s team, coached by MLK teacher Ms. Catherine Kelly, with able assistance from Lipscomb University student Liz Ashwood:

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., MAGNET HS, NASHVILLE, TN
Teacher/Coach Ms. Catherine Kelly
Asst Coach Ms. Elizabeth Ashwood (Lipscomb University)
Freshman Jocelyn Hartley
Sophomore Kevin Gomez
Senior Regan Goodrich
Senior April Townson

Our first WorldQuest Champions hailed from Martin Luther King, Jr., Magnet HS, Nashville.

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Next up we have a team from Montgomery Bell Academy put together by teacher Ms. Annie Williams who knows something about putting together WorldQuest teams. She coached teams that won the 2nd and 3rd Tennessee WorldQuest Championships. Everyone watch out. MBA is on the hunt for a ‘three-peat.’

MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY, NASHVILLE, TN
Teacher/Coach Ms. Annie Williams
Junior John Cooper
Junior Micah White
Junior Tom Peters
Sophomore Christopher Falls

2012 Tennessee Academic WorldQuest Champions: Montgomery Bell Academy, Nashville – (L-R) TNWAC President Patrick Ryan, MBA Coach Annie B. Williams, John Mellow, Jake Simons, TNWAC Board Members/Judges, Danielle Rovelli, McKay Proctor, Will Stewart, and TNWAC Board Member/Judge Dr. Jeff Overby.

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From Williamson County’s Centennial High School we will have two teams coached by Ms. Cassie Bates. A special tip of the hat to Ms. Bates for not only organizing WorldQuest teams but for joining the TN WAC’s program committee for the “Spotlight on Turkey” cultural program this year. Her hard work there will help provide a terrific seminar, Turkey study tour and public affairs program for her fellow educators. [Link] If you, too, would like to volunteer to make TN WAC programs go just drop us an email [Link]

CENTENNIAL HS, FRANKLIN, TN – Team 1
Teacher/Coach Ms. Cassie Bates
Junior Noah Lawing
Junior Connor Seal
Junior Benjamin Effinger
Junior Claire Kraft

CENTENNIAL HS, FRANKLIN, TN – Team 2
Teacher/Coach Ms. Cassie Bates
Junior Emma Kraft
Freshman Wyatt Ward
Junior Michael Burnside
Sophomore Kelly Gim

The Tennessee World Affairs Council arranges visits and escorts students to Washington venues like the Center for Strategic and International Studies for an insider’s view on foreign policy and international relations, shown here with Martin Luther King, Jr., Magnet HS students.

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Chattanooga will be represented this year with a team from McCallie School which continues to demonstrate commitment to going the distance to bring global education to their students. We welcomed McCallie students to our public affairs briefings, including the October “China Town Hall” at Belmont University. [Link] McCallie’s WorldQuest team is coached by Mr. Marcus Murphy.

MCCALLIE SCHOOL, CHATTANOOGA, TN
Teacher/Coach Mr. Marcus Murphy
Sophomore Trey Spouse
Senior Tanay Patri
Senior Jason Wen
Senior Evan Majic

Tennessee students have an opportunity to meet with international diplomats during the Washington competition visit, shown here discussing the Czech Republic’s role as chair of the European Union with the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Czech embassy.

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Just down the road from Chattanooga — maybe you can see them from Lookout Mountain — is the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Two teams from GSMST will compete and they are coached by Mr. Adam Brown.

GWINNETT SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – Team 1
Teacher/Coach Mr. Adam Brown
Sophomore Mariam Akbar
Sophomore David Stewart
Sophomore Sahana Shridhar
Sophomore Alif Rahman

GWINNETT SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – Team 2
Teacher/Coach Mr. Adam Brown
Junior Sebastian Williams
Junior Theodora Abah
Junior Aditya Santoki
Junior Kdswn Habtemariam

Washington championship match visits typically include a stop at Capitol Hill for office calls on students’ representatives, here Congressman Jim Cooper, and the Tennessee senators.

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Completing the SEC bracket will be three teams from the Randolph School of Huntsville, Alabama (Southern Tennessee for our purposes) organized and coached by Mr. David Hillinck. They were among the competitors at our WorldQuest practice match in November and one of their teams came away as the winners. You others better be ready, Randolph has been working it.

RANDOLPH SCHOOL, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA – Team 1
Teacher Coach Mr. David Hillinck
Mariam Hassoun
Joshua Hovanes
Erin Bond
Shaheer Seljuki

RANDOLPH SCHOOL, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA – Team 2
Teacher Coach Mr. David Hillinck
Deanna Dailey
Neelesh Manandhar
Somil Joshi
William Kessler

RANDOLPH SCHOOL, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA – Team 3
Teacher Coach Mr. David Hillinck
Bipul Mainali
Joshua Huber
Pratik Yedla
Danielle Dailey

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So, that’s the lineup for the 2016 Tennessee Academic WorldQuest Championship Match. The competition is set for 1:00 pm (Central Time) at Belmont University in Nashville. It is open to the public and we hope you will be there to cheer them on.

Please consider making a contribution to the World Affairs Council’s annual fund to help make this important program possible.

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Thank you!