Maddie Chu '27
Nov 15, 2024
Mercersburg Academy strives to provide its students with opportunities to participate in national competitions such as the American Mathematics Competition, National History Day, and Scholastics.
Michele Poacelli, English Department Head, has helped many students develop their Scholastics writing pieces. “When many students are preparing publications for external places, the bar feels a little higher, which is really great motivation to put your best foot forward,” she said.
Past winning works are displayed on the Scholastics website. Poacelli urges students to submit as one day their work could be featured on the website inspiring other people. She added, “Students are also curious about how their writing stacks up to not just their peers in-house but their peers all across the country.”
“I had a couple of works written that document my personal growth, and I had no intention to submit for scholastics. However, when I learned about this opportunity, I decided to give it a shot,” said Kelsey Li ‘26, a Scholastics Gold Key recipient in the Personal Memoir category.
Not only is the Scholastics competition a great way for students to showcase their writing, but it is also great practice for writing for college. “The recognition is a wonderful thing to put on your application,” said Poacelli.
Grace Chi ‘25, a leader in Mercersburg’s Math Club, said, “It has been a really great place to do fun problems and take math a little less seriously and have more fun with it with everyone working together and helping each other learn.” The Math Club also sponsors the American Mathematics Competition, or AMC, opportunities for students. Chi stated, “The AMC has been a fun way to test your logic skills and practice thinking outside the box more.”
“I took the AMC 12 because the program requires a different approach, which is interesting to think about. It was fun to gain experience to solve these hard problems,” said Fredrick Wu ‘26.
A new competition that Mercersburg will support is National History Day, or NHD. Susanna Huang ‘27, a participant in this year’s competition and NHD club member, said, “I have a great passion for history and therefore I want to learn new things while displaying my knowledge and getting feedback from judges.”
Every year, there is a theme that students research for the NHD competition; this year's theme is “Rise and Responsibility.” Huang said, “It’s a very interesting topic choice, especially with this year’s election.”
The NHD club has also been helping students brainstorm and will provide transportation for competitors. “Because we are at a boarding school, many students who want to participate in competitions find it difficult to secure transportation to competition locations. Lisa and I participated last year and wanted to help provide students the opportunity to not only research more about history, but also use NHD to apply their research through different ways of expression, such as through the showcase of an exhibit, documentary, or performance,” said Jolie Zhu ‘26, cofounder of the NHD club.
Allison Stephens, History Department Head and faculty adviser to the NHD club, said, “The NHD competition is a chance for students to get excited about history.” She is appreciative of the Mercersburg students’ initiative, saying, “I love it when kids love history, and I encourage students considering the NHD to jump right in and simply partner with somebody that you like spending time with and makes you think.”