Left to Right: Jake Sonderman, Sara Habibipour, Coach Mrs. Coffey, Elizabeth Shay, and Evan Spry

For the first time in Palm Valley history, our high school Academic World Quest team won First Place out of eight other schools in the Coachella Valley. Team members included Jake Sonderman, Sara Habibipour, Elizabeth Shay, Evan Spry and Coach Andrea Coffey.

Although this would normally mean that they could go to Washington D.C., they competed virtually in the national Academic World Quest competition. Out of 105 teams across the United States, the Palm Valley team ranked 14th! 

Academic World Quest is a competition about foreign affairs, international relations, and current events. Here are the topics that each member specialized in: 

• Jake: The Post-Pandemic Economy, Exploring Peace in a World of Conflict, India-Pakistan relations, China-Latin America relations, and the International Labor Organization.
• Sara: Global Protests, U.S. Foreign Service in the 21st Century, Red Sea conflict, America’s approach to Artificial Intelligence, and Uzbekistan.
• Elizabeth: Fraying Alliances, U.S. Foreign Service in the 21st Century, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, Philippines-US relations, and the International Labor Organization.
• Evan: The Arab Spring: 10 years later, Climate Change, US-Northern Triangle relations, Exploring Peace in a World of Conflict, and Uzbekistan.  

If this sounds interesting to you, consider joining World Quest next year! 

Source: AWQ winner and thebirdonfire.org blogger Sara Habibipour.