Best of the Week 2019-2020: Excellence in College Prep

"WORLD'S SMARTEST EDSMAN" CHALLENGE UNITES EDSMEN FOR VIRTUAL TRIVIA GAME

To keep the spirit of academics and competition alive, Principal KC McKenna '00 and Dean of Student Life and Leadership Mr. Matt Wallenhorst '05 hosted the "World's Smartest Edsman" trivia competition for Edsmen and faculty to test their knowledge in a fun, five-day challenge. Each day, participants were asked questions from three categories. The first two categories were academic-based with the last category serving as a more fun, cultural category. For example, Day 1 of the "World's Smartest Edsman" asked participants questions about technology, science and sports. After competing in the five-day challenge, students' scores were compiled based on the number of questions they got correct and how quickly they answered them. In the end, Joshua Butler '23 was the first-ever "World's Smartest Edsman" champion. "The 'World's Smartest Edsman' challenge was a fun and competitive way to test students' and teachers' knowledge," says Josh. "It was so nice to see everyone's personalities come through while playing the trivia game. I enjoyed bantering back and forth with students and teachers in a fun, casual environment. St. Ed's really does have a diverse community and I think these friendly competitions are a great way of keeping us all connected and having fun."

Social Studies teacher Mr. Sean Cahill also participated in the "World's Smartest Edsman" challenge and placed in the top five. "I looked forward to the 'World's Smartest Edsman' trivia challenge each day because it was a chance to have fun and share some friendly competition with the guys," says Mr. Cahill. "One moment that made me smile was when one question asked who said a particular quote. The homework I assigned a few days earlier included the same quote and one of the students thanked me because that's how he knew the answer. It's difficult to be apart from the guys when we'd all rather be laughing and learning together back in the classroom. However, the 'World's Smartest Edsman' gave us a half an hour each day to remember that we are still very much a community that celebrates one another, an innovative culture, and the Holy Cross Spirit."

"The 'World's Smartest Edsman' competition was a fun opportunity for the St. Ed's community to challenge themselves and learn more. Trivia is an excellent way to compete while seeing the knowledge that other people have on different topics," says Mr. Wallenhorst. "We definitely have some stokes in the fire and are working on new ways to continue engaging our students through challenges like 'World's Smartest Edsman.'"