References

American Legion

The American Legion is one of the oldest and largest veterans groups in the United States. Their roots go back to the Grand Army of the Republic, which was a group for Union Civil War Veterans after the war. The competition that I took part in was the Ohio American Legion Americanism and Government Test. This is a 50 multiple choice and one essay question test on various aspects of varying levels of American government. These include local, county, state and federal. The questions range widely between historical and policy answers. I won my school's contest for eleventh grade boys as well as county, and district. I ended up as one of the three highest scoring individuals in the state and as a result was awarded the trip to DC. The American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary goes all out for this trip, and as a result it was one of the most memorable and rewarding weeks of my life. If anyone has a chance to compete for it, it is worth so much more than the half hour of lost class time.

Academic Challenge

Academic Challenge is also known as Quizbowl depending on where you are from. My school has consistently been one of the top programs in the state since the inception of a widely organized state tournament back in the 1980's. Our coach was a member of that founding group, and remains active with us as head coach, and also as a member of the OAC council. Quizbowl does not usually get you much individual attention, but its fast paced, unpredictable nature helps you learn quickly and to think on your feet to make abstract connections that can lead to points.