The early morning sun peeked through the clouds as students boarded the bus, buzzing with excitement for the UIL conference ahead. Conversations swirled around about competitions and the different opportunities that Lone Star College-North Harris, had provided. It wasn’t just another trip to take for granted, it was a chance to get an upper hand on future competition.
Attending the UIL Student Activity Conference, every student had their own plan for success as the UIL conference had a variety of events and lectures to attend to.
“My primary focus area was copy editing,” senior Kaitlin Burns said. “Which is my main competition alongside current events.”
Additionally, this conference was a great success to be able to regain memory over all the events to help the UIL team prosper this year.
“I feel like it was beneficial,” sophomore Ashtyn King said. “ It was a great refresher on things I already know. For UIL, I feel like I could put more effort into my writing. I’m excited to go to a bunch of places and compete with my team.”
Not only did students come to learn, they were able to experience performances they don’t usually see.
“The conference benefited me because I got free snacks, and learned about my competitions,” junior Victor Gomez said. “I got to see a cool performance of poetry and prose.”
During the conference, real professionals ranging from the speaking and writing events were able to come in and thoroughly explain how to improve skills.
“It did give some insight from professionals and judges on what they were looking for,” Burns said. “Something you don’t always learn by just competing. I liked that they explained why they did something, such as changing certain test formats, instead of doing it and saying ‘Well we just decided to’.”
The UIL Student Activity Conference was a great chance to go out and see all the different aspects of the different events, and was a great pre-competition to get everyone excited about the future.
“I’m excited to compete in my events to show my knowledge of headline writing and editorial,” Gomez said. “And most importantly, the breakfast tacos.”
