by Arianna Michaud | editor in chief

Autumn Neale has found value in her UIL experience, during which she has participated in literary criticism, spelling and current event, the latter of which is her favorite. 

“It’s such a fun meeting. Every Friday after school, I’m gonna go after school today, and it’s just so much fun. I feel like we have the same political views and it’s nice to  hear different sides of the spectrum and it’s good to be diverse in that aspect,” Neale said. 

This year, sponsor Carrie Turner-Gray is seeking to improve the program with increasing participation and officers. 

“We’re trying to increase UIL participation so that we’re competitive with other schools in the district and at the region and state level. This year we decided to have officers because we needed some additional help to support the teachers that are coaches. That way, getting the student body involved and having more of a student viewpoint instead of just a teacher viewpoint,” Turner-Gray said. 

Reana Canales coaches literary criticism and spelling and identifies students who would find value in UIL. 

“Truly students who are wanting to challenge themselves academically. Students who really do like their academics and who like to challenge themselves. Students who like to see where they are at in their skill set. Things like spelling are good skills to have. Understanding how to use words is also good to have. It helps with good tone, intonation, things like that. I know not everybody likes to give up a Saturday for that but they are good basic skills to have,” Canales said. 

Neale is such a student that doesn’t mind giving up the occasional Saturday. 

“It’s good to be competitive, I think that looks good if you’re not just competitive in other stuff but also academically competitive outside of school and rank. It’s also good for you,” Neale said. 

If you want to join, check out the chart below. 

“Contact me in E208 or any of the coaches from any of the posters that are up,” Turner-Gray said.