Coachella Valley High School Students Compete in 18th Annual Academic WorldQuest Competition

Eight Coachella Valley high schools competed in the 18th annual Academic WorldQuest competition on Feb. 2, according to the press release. The event, which took place at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, was facilitated and coordinated by Michael Karp, an assistant professor of history at the Palm Desert Campus and member of the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council of the Desert. Palm Desert High School took first place. Team members included Tara Bakhshi Devfuli, Evan Lindermann, Shafaa Munjal, Ian Randolph and Coach Patricia Lizza. Xavier College Prep captured second place and Rancho Mirage High School took third. The Xavier College Prep team included team members Jake Hermsen, Matthew Jugan, Sarah Macwan, Nicholas Sanders and Coach Tonya Carr. Rancho Mirage High School team members included Elyana Lewis, Paige Foster, Alia Rye, Micaela Sese and Coach Kim Robinson. After five individual rounds and more than two hours of competing, Palm Desert High School finished on top with a score of 47 out of 50. The press release states the team will move on to compete against other high school teams throughout the country in the National Academic WorldQuest Competition on April 28 – 29. Scholarships were awarded to each student in the top three teams. $300 for first place. $200 for second place, and $100 for third. The most improved award went to Shadow Hills High School whose team members won $75 each. For more information about the Academic WorldQuest, visit the World Affairs Council of the Desert website.