Academic State Meet Draws Thousands to Austin to Compete

By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Friday, May 31, 2013 8:15 AM

Lindale High school student Jessie Elliot and White Oak High School student Austin Jordan display their medals and plaques after the journalism awards ceremony at the Academic State Meet. Both students were in all four journalism contests, and both students medaled in each of the four contests.

Photo by Suzanne Bardwell

For the 2013 Academic State Meet, held May 20-22, more than 3,000 Texas students descended on the University of Texas at Austin to compete for the ultimate prize – a State Championship.

And while not every student walked away with a gold medal, every student walked away as a winner, said Academic Director Dr. David Stevens.

“Each year, I am in awe of the talents of the students at the State Meet,” Dr. Stevens said. “You don’t make it to that level of competition without intelligence, dedication and commitment.”

This year to add more prestige to the award ceremonies, Dr. Stevens secured auditoriums for most award ceremonies.

“These students deserve the best, and that is what we strive to give them,” he said.

Also added this year was the award presentation for the two new essay contests — the Latino History Essay Contest and the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition.

All finalists for this contest were invited to come to the State Meet for a writing workshop and the award ceremony. Former UIL Academic Director and author Bobby Hawthorne led the writing workshop.

“We were pleased that the majority of the finalists were able to attend the State Meet,” said David Trussell, the essay contest director. “The awards ceremony was a really special event, and we received a great deal of positive feedback about the writing workshop.”

The 2013 Academic State Champions are Sabine Pass HS (1A), Salado HS (2A), Argyle HS (3A), Dawson HS (4A) and Dulles HS (5A).
For a complete list of individual and team winners, please go to: http://www.uiltexas.org/academics/state