621st CRW members volunteer at academic decathlon

  • Published
  • By Tech. Lesley Waters
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing public affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  More than 30 members from the 621st Contingency Response Wing, based at Travis, volunteered in this year's California Academic Decathlon, March 15 to 16, in Sacramento. An additional 30 Airmen from Travis also volunteered during the decathlon.

"It's very important to support the education of our youth, and help recognize the academic accomplishments of these students," said Tech. Sgt. Ralph Nehring, 570th Global Mobility Readiness Squadron weather section NCO in charge. "(The academic decathlon) was their chance to compete in front of a crowd, as if it were a sporting event. I love watching football as much as the next person, but ultimately the future technological innovations impacting our lives will be made by these academic all-stars."

The California Academic Decathlon is a statewide non-profit organization that promotes an educational experience by providing a format in which teams of nine high school students compete in academic events. All California public and private high schools are eligible to compete. Teams are comprised of three honor students, individuals with a 3.75 and above grade point average, three scholastic students, individuals with a 3.00 to 3.74 GPA, and three varsity students, individuals with a 2.99 GPA and below.
The CRW members volunteered in several different academic events to include: Tests in art, music, language and literature, mathematics, economics, science and social science. In addition, there were communication tests for writing an essay, the delivery of a prepared and an impromptu speech and an interview. The decathlon concluded with a super quiz. The super quiz consisted of three rounds of competition, with three students per round. There were 12 questions per round and the total points possible were 5,400.

"I was surprised at the wide variety of topics presented with all the different speeches," said Capt. Lisa Cepero, 15th Air Mobility Operations Squadron integration flight commander. "There were very creative speeches. The super quiz was also impressive. The primary subject was Russia, and out of hundreds of pages of material they develop 12 questions per level. It's amazing what these students know."

Like the decathlon of the ancient Greeks, the academic decathlon consists of 10 events. The difference - Greek events tested physical strength, while the academic decathlon test academic strength.

"The academic decathlon is a competitive event modeled after the Olympics by stimulating academic achievement and honoring 'athletes of the mind,' " said Ken Scarberry, California Academic Decathlon executive director. "The program is one of the most rigorous and enriching of its kind. The competition provides students the opportunity to participate in an educational forum, which fosters a deep respect for knowledge, cooperation and self-esteem."

Scarberry said without all the volunteers, the decathlon would not have been as successful. He commended the Air Force and Travis for stepping up and accepting the challenge.

"Volunteering as a squadron was a great opportunity for us to give back to the community as a group, while at the same time fostering teamwork in a positive setting outside of work," said Lt. Col. Carolyn Coleman, 570th GMRS commander. "We spend a lot of time focused on the mission so it was nice to interact in a different setting while helping others. Not only did we learn about something new and meet different people, we also provided a positive representation of the 621 CRW and the Air Force in general."

Since 1979, the California Academic Decathlon has provided more than 300,000 of California's high school students with the opportunity to learn subjects and skills that benefit them both in the classroom and in their future careers.

This year nearly 600 students and 61 high school teams from across the state competed in this year's California Academic Decathlon. Los Angeles Unified School District's Granada Hills Charter High School won this year's decathlon with a score of 56,165.50 points out of 65,400 possible.

In 2012, California's top teams went on to set new records at the national level and extended California Academic Decathlon's consecutive national championships to 10 in a row. In 31 years of national competition, California has placed first or second every year but one.

The state competition is divided into three divisions based on the schools regional score: Division I, the top 10 highest scoring teams, Division II, the next top 20 highest scoring teams, and Division III, the next top 31 highest scoring teams. The format allows teams to compete with other teams of similar scores for individual honor in 10 various subjects. Furthermore, it gives emerging counties the opportunity to experience a state championship and a chance for their decathletes to attain medals for their achievement at a level of competition that best fits their team's ability.

Vanden High School represented the Solano Region as the only high school and placed 17th with a combined score of 44,848.7. Vanden students took home some individual recognition.

Joseph Thomas had the most points in the Division II scholastic division of the overall student winners with 7,859.1. He tied for third in Economics for Division II in the Scholastic division with 920 points and took first place in the science for Division II in the scholastic division with 900 points. Thomas also took first place social science for Division II in the scholastic division with 840 points.

Elizabeth Hubbard was the highest scoring student from Vanden with 8,114.4 points. She tied for first in economics for Division II Honors division with 980 points. She also took first place in language and literature for Division II in the honors division with 820 points and first place in science for Division II in the honors divisionwith 940 points.

Katelyn Trujillo took third place in language and literature for Division II in the scholastic division with 740 points.

To learn more about the California Academic Decathlon and see a complete list of this year's results, visit the CAD website at http://www.academicdecathlon.org.