April 29, 2022

Academic WorldQuest team repeats success

A team of Upper St. Clair High School students recently won the statewide Academic WorldQuest competition, sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg. For the second year in a row, juniors Keshav Narasimhan, Daniel Wang, Ben Wasson and Team Captain Qadir Khan will compete in the national competition April 29-30, 2022.

Academic WorldQuest, a program of World Affairs Councils of America, is a fun, fast-paced team competition for high school students that tests players’ knowledge of current international politics, geography, global economics, history and world cultures.

The students read many articles and analyzed related data to prepare for multiple choice questions in 10 rounds. The 2021-22 Academic WorldQuest topics include: 

• Where Climate and Migration Meet
• Afghanistan: End of the 20-year U.S.-led Intervention
• Human-Centered Agenda to the Future of Work
• CDC and the Global Health Agenda
• Technology and Democracy: Threat or Promise?
• “Great Decisions”
• Global Supply Chains and U.S. national security
• The future of Persian Gulf Security
• Brexit: taking stock and looking ahead
• The coldest war: toward a return to Great Power competition in the Arctic
• China and Africa
• The two Koreas
• The World Health Organization's response to COVID-19
• The end of Globalization?
• 21st Century Money: Dollars to Digital Currencies
• Working for Peace Through Legacies of War: The Case of Vietnam
• Insecurity in China's Neighborhood
• Current Events

The Upper St. Clair High School team is coached by Mrs. Pat Palazzolo, gifted education coordinator and sponsor of the high school’s World Affairs Club.