The Brightside: UMES Quiz Bowl Team
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, is one of 32 Historically Black Colleges and Universities that will be participating in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge.
The UMES Quiz Bowl team is a revamped trivia team that highlights the intellectual and competitive side of the university. “I love it here, and the reason I do love it here is because of little teams like this, little unusual teams,” says member and Captain of the team, Priancaya Sanders.
We’re told this group has a knack for knowing a little bit of everything. about everything. “Everybody has their specialties, so some of the boys have a sports specialty, I’m more of pop culture, miscellaneous. Everybody has their specialty and everybody just grasps at each other,” says Sanders.
Coached by former quiz bowl member, Earl Holland along with Dr. Kawanda McCarthy-Williams, we’re told students on the team can widen their scope of knowledge while gaining lifelong learning skills, including leadership, collaboration, and sportsmanship. “I do believe that you do learn by experiencing so they have an opportunity to meet other players, they have an opportunity to meet people within their community,” says Williams.
Now how do you prepare for these challenges? Well, the team says like most subjects in school, you have to study. “We go home and we look over the slides, memorize it. I kind of go over it again throughout the week adding more information on top,” says Sanders. “Watching awards shows like the Oscars or the Emmys.”
The team participates in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, which releases 500 questions that will most likely be a part of the national quiz bowl tournament, so we’re told it truly takes work and knowledge from everyone to win.
From the quick pace nature to the vast knowledge of topics the average person may not be well versed in, everyone brings something different to the table.
Something quiz bowl team member Victoria Casteal tells us is one of the best parts about being a part of the team. “I am a biology major so I don’t get to encounter too many art majors or people who are in law which we have as well so it’s nice to get to know what other people do within their majors.”
Quiz bowl team coaches say it’s much more about the enrichment this opportunity provides, “I’m most excited to watch the players grow as they mature and be able to go for those interns and not afraid to show their side of them that’s smart and cool,” says Williams. She adds, “It’s great for our teams and our sports but it’s nice to also have accolades for our intelligence and our competition.”
An opportunity that’s created a sense of family for team members a home away from home. “It’s really fun to get to know different people, that we’ve all come from different majors or perspectives in life,” says Casteel.
Sanders was one of the four from the team that was able to represent the team in California.
For more information on UMES’s Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Team, contact coach Earl Holland Jr at edholland1@umes.edu.
