The Academic Games team had a blast in Orlando last month, and took home some trophies too!

The students traveled to Orlando to attend the National Tournament. Team members participated in three days of competitions which left plenty of time for some fun under the sun where the daytime temperature never dipped below 80 degrees.

Thursday April 20, the Academic Games team arrived at the airport at the reasonable time of 3:45 a.m. Students departed at 5 a.m. and arrived at the Orlando International Airport just less than two hours later.

The first day consisted of lounging by the pool, swimming, catching lizards (or geckos, nobody really knew for sure) and running around the beautiful hotel area.

The hotel was on Orlando's International Drive, which made every restaurant, convenience store or gift shop, Ferris wheel, and mini golf course within perfect walking distance.

The next day the students went to Universal Orlando Resort to spend the day at a theme park with a big reputation. If you were to ask the Academic Games team members what their favorite part of the trip was, many would most likely tell you that it was going to Universal.

The theme park covers 840 acres of land, it contains 48 rides, and an estimated average of 20,000 people enter the park each day. The rides are themed around movies, television shows, and franchises that are owned by Universal including Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Fast & Furious, Despicable Me, The Simpsons, and many more.

Competitions began Saturday. The first rounds of LinguiSHTIK and Propaganda were back-to-back in the morning, and the first round of Presidents began later in the afternoon.

Later that night, the students had an encounter with the Orlando Bushman. Having amassed over 220,000 followers on Tik Tok and more than 3.2 million likes, the Orlando Bushman dresses up as a bush, hides in plain sight, and scares innocent passersby. Strangely enough, he's actually a pretty cool guy.

Sunday morning wrapped up LinguiSHTIK followed by a full Current Events tournament, then the first two rounds of Equations, the remaining second half of Presidents, and finally finished with a full Theme tournament that lasted until 8 p.m.

Sunday was the busiest competition day, but the stress was eased by a nighttime trip to Wawa, the Sheetz of the South.

Monday was the last full day the Bobcats spent in Orlando. Equations finished bright and early, followed immediately by the final round of Propaganda. Propaganda was the last tournament played at Nationals, so the seniors were recognized with a round of applause and a poll to see who had been participating in Academic Games for the longest amount of time. The readers and judges wished the seniors well, and everyone was dismissed at 10 a.m.

The final awards ceremony was held in the evening after the high school students explored International Drive even further. At the ceremony, two Beaver Area High School seniors were awarded trophies. Senior Audrey Maize's team placed second in Propaganda, and my team placed second in Current Events. Both were awarded silver Thinker trophies which are replicas of the Thinker statue located at the Rodin Museum, France. Earning a Thinker is an honor, and we both took pride in our achievements.

In addition, sophomore Ava Sutter's Current Events team placed fourth, and she received a medal. Freshman Sam Good's LinguiSHTIK team placed fourth, so he was also awarded a medal.

After the girls made a quick stop at Cold Stone Creamery, the hotel room doors were shut and taped for one last time. Many students felt reflective on the final night and plenty exhausted.

The seniors, including myself, have spent many years growing up participating in this program.

Personally, I have been a member of Academic Games since I was in fourth grade, as has Maize and senior Robert Cestra.

Academic Games fosters academic excellence, critical thinking skills, and a love of learning in students across the country at all ages. It truly provides students with incredibly valuable experiences that have inspired so many to devote themselves to succeeding, not just academically, but in all they do. This is why the trip's ending felt so bittersweet.

The trip was wrapped up with an early morning ride to the airport that came barely seconds away from 40 students and chaperones missing their plane. Luckily, the flight was held, and the students boarded safely.

The 32 degree Pittsburgh weather was shocking, and upon departing the airport, students hugged each other and began their separate trips back home.