Teens Commended for Exceptional Performance in Academic Competitions

Teens in smart dress accompanied by proud parents filled the foyer of the San Angelo Independent School District’s administration building on Monday, waiting to shake hands with the members of the board as their achievements this school year were acknowledged and celebrated.

Students from both high schools, some involved in elective trade courses at West Texas Training Center, lined the walls as their teachers called them up one by one, recognizing over 150 kids who progressed past the district level in UIL and other academic competitions this year.

Competing with projects centering on a wide variety of topics including everything from cosmetology and auto mechanics to criminal justice, culinary arts and computer applications, several of the city’s youth took home top honors at the regional level, some advancing to national and international competitions in their fields.

One of the teams that showed considerable success this year was Central High School’s speech and debate team, who had 37 students qualify to compete at the state level with the Texas Forensics Association, and another nine students qualify for the National Speech and Debate Association competition this year.

The team, led by teachers Julie Schniers and Timothy Haynes, also had students fill 13 of the 15 spots in the regional competition for UIL, and two of those students, Luke Hogg and Chase Lemaster, placed third in the state competition in March.

“I am so proud of these students!” Schniers said via email. “But I am proud of each and every single student on our team! We aren’t good by accident; the work they put into speech and debate is phenomenal. Being able to coach this caliber of students at a high school that supports you the way Central and all of SAISD has is a dream.”

Over at Lake View, two business-oriented organizations excelled at competitions this year, sending one group of four girls to state with the BPA organization headed by Leanne Hood and Judith Kitchens, who focused on global marketing.

“The girls that competed actually had the opportunity to work on a similar project for each organization,” Hood explained. “My team of Gladys Chacon, Chelsea Aguirre, Taylor Gregg, and Katelan House competed in the Global Marketing Team contest. The topic was for them to select a current sport and advance that sport to a professional level in a new area. So after much research and interviewing the Marketing Director for the San Antonio Spurs they decided on the area of San Antonio, TX and the sport of Lacrosse. “

Hood explained that as a part of the project, the team composed a detailed business development and marketing plan, then created a presentation they gave before a panel of judges at the BPA Regional Conference. There, the team took first place and advanced to state, where they placed fourth.

Two of those girls, Gladys Chacon and Chelsea Aguirre, also excelled with a similar organization called DECA, which is under the direction of Jennifer Urbanek. This year, Lake View sent 14 of 16 students to compete at state with the DECA group, and Aguirre and Chacon placed to compete at the International Career and Development Conference in Orlando, Florida on April 24-29.

Entering the DECA competition on a sports and entertainment promotion plan, Aguirre and Chacon composed a paper within 11 pages that explained their promotional plan, and also completed a 100-question multiple choice test on business administration and marketing.

“They had to also present their plan in a role-play situation to a judge which acted as the company manager,” Urbanek said. “Chelsea and Gladys competed against 50 other teams and sealed their spot at the ICDC competition.”

At the International Career and Development Conference, Aguirre and Chacon will compete against students from all 50 states, plus those from countries like Guam, China, Japan, Korea, Spain, Mexico and Canada.

“We are so excited to have such a great representation from Lake View High School,” Urbanek said. “The two girls worked very hard to meet all of the requirements that both organizations had set.  Although their promotion plan was not presented the same in BPA and DECA, they were able to use parts in each competition.”

Below is a list of all of the students recognized by the school board for progressing to regionals and beyond in academic competitions this year.