Mount Carmel Senior Shines at Scholastic Bowl November 18, 2005

Chicago – Mount Carmel senior Ian Secviar recently put in an award-winning performance amongst some of the state’s brightest high school whizzes.

Competing in the New Trier Solo Invitational Scholastic Bowl Championships, Secviar took home First-Place Honors in the Current Events bracket. The Highland, IN native posted the highest score out of a pool of about 50 competitors, made up of the brightest students from some of the state’s most elite high schools.

“I’m pretty certain I was the only South Sider there. I was honored to represent Mount Carmel,” said Secviar, who has been the No. 1 student in the Class of 2006 since December of his freshman year. “It was important to me to show that students from Mount Carmel can compete with students from these schools.

“As an extra-curricular activity, Scholastic Bowl, to these schools, is like football is to Mount Carmel. So for me to compete with these students, and to be able to beat them, says a lot about the well-rounded education Mount Carmel has given me.”

Even though current events are discussed during the school day, the key to Secviar in the category is to put in the time away from school. He reads Time Magazine and The Week Magazine weekly, and he’s an avid viewer of BBC. He always attempts “to stay in touch with the foreign perspective of the United States as well.”

Because of his affinity for acquiring knowledge on world events, Secviar answered the majority of his questions correctly. He knew King Addullah II was the King of Jordan and he knew that William Harrison is the current Senate Majority Leader.

“The key to current events is being interested in what’s going on around the world. Staying informed is so important,” he said. “You’ll never know when you’ll have a chance to make a difference in this world. As you mature and grow older, and you have a chance to vote, it’s vital to know what’s going on.”

Even though Secviar finished in first place in the Current Events category, he did well across the board.

“I remember exact questions throughout the day that I answered correctly because of my classes at Mount Carmel. “I even said out loud one time ‘Thank you, (Joe) Broccolo!’ (Ian’s U.S. History teacher last year). My History, Latin, Physics and English classes all paid off.”

Secviar has already completed his application for Harvard University, and he is in the process of applying to Notre Dame University. He is also considering Boston College or Georgetown, but Harvard and Notre Dame top his list.

“It’s a tough decision for me,” he said. “Both schools have outstanding reputations and strong alumni networks, and the locations are excellent. We’ll see what happens.”

Contact Info:

Matt Kellam, Director of Communication
mkellam@mchs.org