For Elijah Munoz the motivating factors for entering the recent Civics Bee, hosted by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, was the challenge and the cash prize.
This was the first Bee the chamber has hosted.
The 13-year-old St. John’s Episcopal School seventh-grader qualified for the state competition in Austin later in the summer, but isn’t sure he’s going.
The event was open to any 6th, 7th or 8th grade student in Odessa. They were invited to submit an essay on “identify a problem facing our community.” The essays were judged by U.S. Chamber representatives and 10 students were selected from Harmony Science Academy, Adinvita Private School and St. John’s Episcopal School to participate in the live Civics Bee in Odessa.
Three Odessans served as local judges for the live event: Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett, Young Professionals of Odessa Board Chair Kaylie Banda and Dr. Adrian Vega, Executive Director of the Education Partnership of the Permian Basin. Odessa American Publisher Pat Canty served as the event emcee.
“My essay was about the importance of civics … and how if an individual has an understanding of civics, they can better (themselves) and (their) community,” Munoz said.
He said he had to work fast to get his entry in.
“Our school got notified quite late. I think it was Monday and it was due Friday, so I went home and after school I just started researching on civics and I decided that I was going to write on the benefits of civics and what it can do,” Munoz said.
He added that you had to address five main problems in your community.
“I started off and I stated that the quality of a community is determined by the citizens of it and the effort they put into it. Then I went into how you have to respect each other; respect the buildings; the communities. You have to protect the environment, and, in turn, you can better yourself while bettering the community,” Munoz said.
He also talked about the importance of participating in the democratic process.
Munoz said it was nerve racking to be asked questions on the spot.
“We got in there and we sat down and they had these tablets. It was an online little quiz. It was 20 questions, two rounds, and it was just on how our government works. So we answered them. I got like, 60% of them right and I ended up qualifying for the third round, which was open-ended questions about your essay. I made 30 in that round …,” Munoz said.
He said he’s still debating whether to go to Austin.
“I think it’d be a great experience and the first place price is $1,000. But I’m going to have to put in more thought into what I’d say about my essay to give myself the best chance. Because I’d originally cut myself short and I didn’t think I’d make it to the third-round essay. And so these other kids came in with flashcards and note cards on what to say. I was real nervous coming up with it on the spot, so it was really nerve racking,” Munoz said.
If he could come up with something that he’s confident in to say and feel like he has a good chance of winning or placing, he would go.
“But right now, I’m not too confident in my abilities,” Munoz said.
However, he said he would recommend taking part in the Bee to other students.
“It’s a great experience to at least try and give it a shot because you have nothing to lose. If you do move on, it’s a great experience and there’s a lot of governmental representatives there,” Munoz said.
He added that learning about how the government works and that it’s based on documents that are 200-plus years old was really interesting.
Head of School Heather Kirk said she is very proud of Munoz for taking up the challenge of the Civics Bee, not knowing what to expect at all.
“But Elijah’s always up to the challenge,” Kirk said.
Odessa Chamber of Commerce National Civics Bee winners announced
