With College Decision Day approaching, May 1, seniors are faced with one of the biggest choices in their academic lives: where they’ll be attending college this fall. “[The application process was] definitely a little stressful and time-consuming,” senior Leanne Warren said. “It helped [me] get to know myself better through writing.” Several seniors agreed on the fact that applications were emotionally draining, but now that they are over, their senior year will move like a breeze. “I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” senior Nimran Singh said. “Finishing [college applications] not only made me feel more free, but more accomplished.” Singh was accepted into many renowned universities like University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where she committed, University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Davis (UC Davis), Pepperdine and more. “Trust me when I tell you, the schools you get into and the places you end up all play a factor into what is really meant for your future,” Singh said. “Even if it doesn’t align with your plan or what you wanted [in the first place].” After months of waiting, seniors at the school were given some exciting acceptances. “[I got into] UC Davis, San Diego State University (SDSU), University of Oregon, University of California Santa Cruz [and] Fullerton State University,” senior Riya Mistry said. Mistry is heavily involved within the school, including her role as a peer college counselor and being on Student Council, where she is currently planning graduation. “Getting involved within school and finding things that interest you and building something from that [are extremely important],” Mistry said. “[Not only did I Photo by Sophia Dasse Academic Decathlon wins state competition in a three-peat By Sophie Apolaya The school’s Academic Decathlon team competed in their state competition March 20-23 in Santa Clara, Calif., bringing back first place for a third year in a row. “Our team worked very hard to [win the state competition],” senior Bahar Mirzajanzadeh said. “It was a fun experience, even if it got stressful at times.” The competition consists of ten events with seven of the eight being objective and three being subjective. The objective exams are multiple-choice and include Economics, Art, Literature, Math, Science, Social Science and Music. The subjective events are an essay, a prepared and impromptu speech and an interview. Students compete in the Honors, Scholastic, or Varsity level which is determined by their academic Grade Point Average (GPA). This victory marks a milestone in the school’s history as the team has never won three consecutive state titles. “The best way [for us] to learn is to test and figure out what you don’t know,” senior Brendan Luna said. “Figuring out what mistakes you make consistently over time and asking for help is extremely important.” The amount of blood, sweat and tears that go into this program is applaudable. Members of the team devote all of their time to the competition, trying to study whenever and wherever they can. Practices go into the late night hours, and even on weekends. Their practices last seven days a week, and their long hours of pure dedication culminate in their high scores and prestige, as the school has won ten national championships in the past, more than any other school in the nation. “There is no one person that is responsible for all of our successes,” senior Zarah Zuhair said. “It’s a collective team effort, and that’s what I never really understood until I joined [the program].” Teamwork, as the team says, carries their competition. They attribute their success to the individual contributions of each member, as they all have different strengths that turn them into a cohesive group. They are all comfortable asking each other for help, and through practice, they have gotten to know each other on a different, personal level. “[The competition] really helped expose my weaknesses and it was kind of eye-opening,” Luna said “We’re all going to continue to work on filling out our skills and review what we did the worst in.” The state competition is the final stop before the team moves on to nationals, where they hope to continue their streak of being first-place champions for a third year. Although their scores are already extremely high, they understand that there is always room for improvement and hope to refine their skills as much as they can, as this is their final competition. Since the whole team is composed of seniors, there will be a bittersweet feeling as they continue to prepare for their final competition of the year. “You learn so much; you’re able to dissect everything and master the subjects piece by piece,” Zuhair said. “To be able to be a part of something like this, I know I’m ready for anything else I may encounter past the competition.” participate in Student Council but I also] did Model United Nations, peer college counseling and volunteer work.” Now, seniors are at the final stages, deciding which university they can see themselves thrive in. “I am planning to go to UCLA to study Biology because it is my dream school,” senior Laila Bowens said. “I love the campus, the area and the opportunities that it will provide.” These acceptances are a result that came from years of hard work and sleepless nights. “I have played basketball all throughout high school and received accolades at the state level,” senior Laila Bowens said. “ I have also been a part of Varsity track all four years of high school and I broke school records for individual and team events.” Not only has Bowens’ been an athletic superhuman, she is also an academically talented student with extremely high grades and even silver and bronze medals in Spanish and French classes. “Even though [the rejections] hurt, they don’t define you or mean anything about your worth,” Warren said. “In the end, you will end up in the right place.”