AGazine, May 2012

Social Studies chair Lorrie Scott has announced the World Events themes for the next two years.

• 2013: The American Revolution
• 2014: Women Who Have Changed the World

Sub-topics for 2013 will be available soon.

The next three AGLOA National Tournaments are set as follows.

• April 26-29, 2013: Charlotte, NC — Hilton Charlotte Executive Park and Marriott Charlotte Executive Park
• April 25-28, 2014: Knoxville, TN — Knoxville Convention Center
• April 24-27, 2015: Orlando, FL — 50th Annual Tournament

To better lead the organization into the future, AGLOA has revised its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws as of May 1, 2012.

The AGLOA Board of Directors now consists of seven members.

• Rod Beard — W. Bloomfield, MI
• Jim Davis — Pittsburgh, PA
• Brother Neal Golden — New Orleans, LA
• Nancy Kinard — Tequesta, FL
• R. Lawrence Liss — N. Palm Beach, FL
• Stuart White — Ann Arbor, MI
• Steve Wright — Shelby Township, MI

Under the Board of Directors will be three councils. Members of the Board of Directors will be ex-officio (not-voting) members of all councils.

• Tournament Council headed by a Tournament Director named by the Board of Directors and composed of representatives elected as they have been in the past. This council will have the responsibility and authority for all aspects of the annual tournaments, just as they always have. The members of the Tournament Council (with the year each three-year term expires) are:
  • Karen Arms (2013) — Man, WV
  • Ellen Bredeweg (2015) — W. Pam Beach, FL
  • Eric Nelson (2014) — Ann Arbor, MI
  • Adrian Prather (2013) — Dunwoody, GA
  • Keith Richards (2015) — Michigan Center, MI
  • Toni Schooley (2014) — Laurel, PA
  • Lorrie Scott (2014) — Vero Beach, FL
  • Madge Tamber (2013) — Mercer, PA
  • Tiffany Vega (2015) — Jefferson Parish, LA
  • Craig Zeller (2014) — New Orleans, LA
• Alumni Council, headed by the Alumni Director named by the Board of Directors and composed of other alumni who will keep the Alumni informed and solicit assistance from them as requested by the Tournament Council and Financial Council.
• Financial Council, headed by a Financial Director named by the Board of Directors and composed of others who will assist in fund-raising efforts needed by AGLOA.

• Ten students and two sponsors from the St. Vrain’s School District north of Denver, CO participated in the tournament at Oglebay Resort.
• Other new participants included Winans Academy of Performing Arts and Northville, MI; St. Lawrence School in Utica, MI; and, after a long absence, Monongalia County, WV.

Two Outstanding Educators awards were presented at the Nationals in West Virginia last month.

• Ryan Gregoire — St. Bernard Parish, LA
• Holly LaCoste — New Orleans Academic Games League

Six students received Outstanding Senior awards at Nationals.

• Alexander Cunningham — Sharon High School (Sharon City, PA)
• Connor Hayes — Seton-LaSalle High School (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Jordan Holmer — Jesuit High School (New Orleans, LA)
• Kathleen Huntzicker — Huron High School (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Ridwan Syed — Haynes Academy (Metairie, LA)
• Dustin Wright — Haynes Academy (Metairie, LA)

In the months to come, we will profile these outstanding sponsors and seniors, starting below.

2012 Outstanding Senior: Kathleen Huntzicker

Throughout middle school, Kathleen Huntzicker was one of the few people I was honestly scared of.

Those words began Priya Menon’s nomination letter for her friend and teammate. Priya continued.

At a time when even my mother couldn’t frighten me, knowing I would have to play her unnerved me completely. Among all the Academic Games players on my team, she achieved a sort of infamous status as being the girl who kicked everyone’s butt at every game. My teammates and I would agonize over who would have to play her during playoff matches and Saturday tournaments and concoct theories that would somehow explain her intelligence and superb Academic Games skills. I even vaguely remember hiding from her at one of the Saturday tournaments, just in case her elevated IQ and brilliance came with laser vision as well. Every time I learned a new Equations Goal or Ling trick, I always wondered whether Kathleen knew it too. Needless to say, when my coach pointed out that she would be on my team instead of the opposite one in high school, I became the happiest girl in the world.

Priya lost her dread as she got to know Kathleen better.

Kathleen Huntzicker
Ann Arbor, MI

As it turns out, she is the diametric opposite of who I had believed her to be while I was in middle school. Aside from being incredibly smart, she is thoughtful, considerate, funny, and above all else, a great friend.

I am incredibly glad I joined high school Academic Games because it meant that I had the chance to actually get to know Kathleen.

On top of being a senior with an extremely demanding schedule, she coaches a middle school team in Ann Arbor because that’s how much she loves Academic Games. Kathleen truly personifies the best of the Academic Games program, the balance of intelligence with dedication, friendship, and fun. To me, she embodies what Academic Games is really all about.

Kathleen played Academic Games eight years at Tappan Middle School and then Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI. The 2012 National Tournament was her seventh.

Her list of national championships is lengthy.

Still, no one becomes an Outstanding Senior just by being a great player. Eric Nelson explained Kathleen’s indispensable contribution to Academic Games in Ann Arbor.

Last year for the first time in a long time there was no Academic Games team at the middle school she went to because we had no coach. This year, along with one of her former teammates who is now a freshman at the University of Michigan, she pledged to restart the Tappan team. Together they recruited and taught a host of middle school players and dedicated two afternoons a week out of their busy schedule to run practices and foster some of the same camaraderie and wonderful memories that made Academic Games such an important part of their lives. She was so impressive as a coach and teacher of the young sixth graders that one of the team parents expressed surprise when talking to me when I revealed that Kathleen was just a high school senior and not a college senior. She came to Saturday tournaments with her team and even came to both weeks of the MLAG state tournament, one for her own senior team and one as a coach for her elementary team. Her elementary team was very successful, making the playoffs in both Linguishtik and On-Sets, remarkable for a team that didn’t exist last year. The refrain from just about every adult I have spoken to about her this year has been, “Is she going to Michigan?” or “Will she coach next year?” or even, “Can we keep her?” In addition to being one of the most decorated Academic Games players of all time, she has become an outstanding coach.

Kathleen has decided to attend Brown University in Providence, RI.

2012 Outstanding Educator: Ryan Gregoire

Ryan Gregoire now belongs to that elite subclass of AGLOA Outstanding Educator award winners – those who also won Outstanding Senior awards. Ryan won the latter honor four years ago in St. Bernard Parish, LA where he began coaching while still at Chalmette High. Some of the same facts that helped him win the senior award contributed to his selection in the educator category this year.

From the form nominating him:

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating blow to St. Bernard Parish’s Academic Games program. Our program still has not fully recovered from this disaster. Only one elementary coach returned after the storm. Ryan has been instrumental in rebuilding our district’s program. He is the only person in our district with the knowledge of the middle, junior, and senior division cube games that allows our teams to be competitive. He has definitely taught every player and coach in our district.

He has continued to coach these last four years while attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

He schedules his classes at LSU so that he can come from Baton Rouge to St. Bernard (a 1.5 hour drive) three days per week to work with our students and coaches all year long. Ryan also takes his exams early, if necessary, at LSU in order to attend the national competition with our teams each year. Without Ryan’s commitment on a daily basis, we would not be able to sustain our program.

Under Ryan’s tutelage, St. Bernard teams and individuals have won numerous top three awards at nationals. One of his players, Zachary Hall, explains.

Ryan is an amazing Academic Games coach. His hands-on knowledge of the four games we play helps us with the intangibles that people who haven’t played cannot provide.When all we want to do is study Propaganda or Presidents, he reminds us how important the cube games are towards our sweeps score. All in all, Ryan is very important to our district and without him, I would lose a friend and a coach who loves academic games as much as I do.

While at Nationals, Ryan revealed he was leaning toward attending Tulane Law School in New Orleans, which would put him closer should he find time – as you know he will – to continue coaching.

Down Memory Lane

This month’s feature is a quiz that tests how observant you’ve been at National Tournaments in reading what’s on the t-shirts of participants. Match each high school with its nickname.