Upper School students place second at the Central Texas History Bee and Bowl, continuing a growing club tradition.

A group of Spartans earned a national spotlight for the second year in a row at the Central Texas History Bee and Bowl hosted at St. Stephen’s.

The History Bowl team includes Joshua Lu ’27, Henry Hanna, James Huang ’27, Matilde Pappalardo ’27, Eli Sahely ’27 and Leila Ross ’27 and finished behind Austin ISD’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA). Spartans qualified for the International Academic Competitions (IAC) National Championships, scheduled for April in Arlington, Virginia. Four additional St. Stephen’s teams also competed at the regional event.

“Placing second at regionals was especially meaningful because it reflected months of hard work and collaboration,” said Lu. “It was exciting to represent St. Stephen’s successfully in a competition we hosted for the first time.”

Students spent months preparing for the Jeopardy!-style competition, featuring buzzer-based history trivia. Questions span general world and regional history and include both individual “bee” and team-based “bowl” contests, testing students’ knowledge of history, geography and social studies.

History Bowl Club faculty sponsor Wallis Goodman credits Lu, who established the St. Stephen’s History Bowl Club in the 2024-25 academic year, as the driving force behind the club’s success. Lu, who has been competing in the History Bowl since he was a 6th grader at previous schools, said he wanted to create a space where students who enjoy history could challenge themselves, collaborate and represent the school in a competitive academic setting.

“My organizational and leadership skills have been tested,” said Lu. “Balancing preparation and practice requires significant time and effort, but the experience has helped me grow and improve both academically and personally.”

Members assemble on Wednesdays during club time to study and prepare for competitions. This year, interest in the club grew significantly, expanding membership to a diverse group of roughly 20 to 30 students. Lu said seeing the strong showing of Spartans at the regional bowl gave him “a real sense of school pride.” 

His teammate Hanna initially joined the club last school year because history has been one of his favorite classes at St. Stephen’s. In addition to growing his history and trivia skills, he’s expanded his circle of friends. 

“I think the bowl has helped me branch out and meet new people, whether that be on the Hill or in D.C. [at nationals],” said Hanna.

Lu said his team plans to compete at nationals this April. Last year, they entered the competition ranked 88th and finished 54th, earning the title of “Most Underseeded.” 

“This year, we hope to continue improving and, most importantly, have fun,” said Lu.

And when they return to The Hill, members plan to continue building momentum and growing the future club.

“This is one of the best examples of the tradition at St. Stephen's of students driving meaningful change,” said Goodman. “I’m glad to continue sponsoring it next year.”