West Texas A&M University hosted the University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic Spring Meet from March 23-25. WT falls under Conference 5A, District 3. Some faculty of the Department of Communication, including Dr. Kristina Drumheller, Dr. Kelsey Abele and Dr. Carolyn Baum were among the officials and proctors for the competition.

According to Uiltexas.org, the history of UIL dates back to 1904 when the president of the University of Texas, Dr. S.E. Mezes, developed an outreach program that could be of service to the entire state. This was his way of protecting the university from being elitist and isolated from society.

Brinn Reeves is a junior English major in WT and a judge for UIL Ready Writing. Reeves explains some benefits students gain from participating in the competition.

“I think UIL is a great way for students to explore different aspects of academics and prepare them for university work,” Reeves said. “I like seeing younger high school and even elementary kids think about certain social climate aspects and more philosophical concepts. I like seeing them compile their thoughts and opinions together in a cohesive way.”

The contests were categorized into Current Events, Number Sense, Ready Writing, Calculator, Computer Applications, Copy Editing, Accounting, Spelling, News Writing, Feature Writing, Social Studies, Editorial Writing, Headline Writing, Math and Literary Criticism.

Maddy Lavery is a senior at Tascosa High School. Lavery shares her preparation for competing with UIL as an experience she really appreciated.

“I think my teacher was very good at preparing us because, even during class, she would cater the lessons to help us write better,” Lavery said. “I feel that helped me because it made me confident in my writing and prepared me for what was going to happen today.”

Miyah Chavez is a freshman at Amarillo High School who believes participating in UIL has been an immense benefit to her as a student.

“I just learned how to manage time a little better and that there are so many different ways you can use a quote,” Chavez said. “I will recommend this to my friends because it is a lot of fun.

Joshua Copas is a senior English major and an alumnus of UIL from his high school. Copas is now a UIL grader using a combination of his UIL experience and knowledge in essay writing.

“I always enjoy reading and getting to see the depth of insight these high school students have,” Copas said. “It’s so enjoyable to read how beautifully they can describe things and how with limited time, they can make small mistakes and just funny accidents. I will happily do this again.”

Qualifiers in the district UIL compete at the regional level scheduled for April 22-23 on WT campus. For more information on the next UIL, visit here.