On Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21, Emerson sent the Academic Decathlon (AcDec) team to State which took place at Collin College and Lebanon Trail High School. Their events consisted of seven multiple choice tests on math, science, social science, literature, art, music and economics, followed by two subjective events: Speech and Interview. Competitors also submitted essays in February that contributed to their scores.

The team were one of the highest achievers at State, bringing a satisfying conclusion to this year’s season. 

“This year we were third overall at the Frisco state meet,” Ridah Farooqui, 12, said. “We’ve never, like, placed as a team at the Frisco state meet. So this is our first time doing that. Sahana [Narasimhan, 11], our Honors One competitor, was first overall individual.” 

The competition itself lasted two days, spreading out the various events between Friday and Saturday. 

“Friday [we had] our subjective events, so we did Speech and Interview and we also took … two tests. Saturday was just a big testing day and we just tested for four hours straight … after that we went over to Lebanon Trail where we did Super Quiz,” Farooqui said. 

The Super Quiz is an event where students in each GPA category from each competing school’s team compete to answer questions as a group. It was the last competitive event of the weekend, and was followed by a celebration to reward the students’ efforts.

“On Sunday, we showed up [to Collin College] and there was a banquet [where] they announced all the awards,” Sheikh Faiyaz Ali, 12, said. 

Between the tests and subjective events, the competition created fun moments and lasting memories for competitors.

“I think my best highlight would probably be on  the day we had Speech and Interview … because Interview really brings out parts of people’s personalities. … I liked having to listen to everyone’s responses and … getting to see a bit more of themselves,” Ali said.