On Jan. 25, Beverly’s Academic Decathlon team, also known as AcaDeca, went to San Gabriel High School to compete in the LACOE SPIN competition. This competition consists of each team member performing their prepared speech, an impromptu, which is a speech given without previous practice, an interview and a SuperQuiz.
Beverly’s team members included the official team, which was Karina Kruger, Lea Levy, Sarah Zhang, Lindsay Moreno, Jacob Treiman, Nicholas Lau, Daniyel Borodin, Elisha Rhie and Peter Kang. Additionally, the junior team also competed. Members include Jion Jung, Trisha Bhasin, Elise Gallup, Hannah Davis, Grace Chang, Chole Lau, Daria Serheyeva and Nima Farnad.
Emotions were running high at the competition. Bhasin, a freshman in the junior team, competed for the first time.
“The first competition feels stressful, but it also feels like a unique experience, seeing so many schools working toward the same goal. It’s going to be an experience of a lifetime because we’re going to create lifelong memories and learn new skills that will help us throughout our life,” Bhasin said.
For others, it was their last competition. Zhang, a member of the official team, reflected on her experience with AcaDeca as a senior.
“AcaDeca has truly transformed my high school experience, giving me a loving and supportive community for all four years. Although I felt sad that it would be my last year, I was also reassured that this program would be left in safe hands. AcaDeca has truly been the best choice I’ve made all of high school,” Zhang said.
The team will soon be competing Saturday, on the first of February for objectives. Objectives include math, literature, science, social science, art, economics and music. This centers around this year’s AcaDeca theme, climate change. Afterward, they will be headed toward the awards ceremony in February, where the team will get recognized and possibly have the chance to compete in a state-level competition.
Ms. Ann-Marie Fine, the AcaDeca coach and teacher at Beverly, was excited to see her decathletes compete.
“I am excited to see how all the preparation for each decathlete turns out! Everyone has worked to do the best that they can,” Ms. Fine said.
If you’re interested in joining Academic Decathlon or have questions, email Ms. Fine ([email protected]).
