Three Heritage Woods secondary school students returned home from a trip to Melbourne, Australia last week with medals after competing in the World Scholars Cup.
Alannah Zhou, who with Golsa Moazedi and Rachael Tomlinson, participated in the global round of competition, said it was worth spending time this summer on her studies if it meant she could collaborate with students from other countries.
“Other students may be going to the beach or playing video games, for them that is fun. But for us, participating in World Scholars Cup puts a smile our face.”
Zhou said she enjoyed meeting other students and having the opportunity to be a tourist, visiting museums, stores and other points of interest.
Still, it was the cut and thrust of competition that got her adrenalin running, and all three students earned a number of medals at the event, which brought 1.600 other students from more than 27 countries to debate, write, and participate in individual and collaborative knowledge tests Down Under.
Zhou, Moazedi and Tomlinson won a total of 24 gold medals in the writing and knowledge tests, along with debate trophies for a third-place individual finish in the senior debate for Zhou and a fourth-place overall team finish in the senior debate for the trio.
The team results earned them a qualification for the Tournament of Champions this November, which brings together the strongest teams from the three global rounds to compete for the overall World Champions at Yale University.
