Since their first official city-wide title in 1985, the El Paso High School high-Q team has continued to dominate the competition despite any obstacles that have come their way. 

“Personally, it’s like a team of academic achievements. It’s validating not only in the sense that we get to prove that El Paso High is like a better school compared to others, but it’s also nice to know that we’re with people who we’re comfortable with making mistakes and learning from and it’s a safe space to be,” Savannah Aguilar-Harrison, a senior captain on the high-Q team said. 

Many students view high-Q, an academic quiz bowl similar to Jeopardy!, as a positive, encouraging environment.

“Our sponsor, Mr. Lang, is a super nice, encouraging guy. He doesn’t make it stressful at all, and then other people are nice. It’s a good learning environment,” Ulysses O’Rourke, a junior on the team, said.

Although the EPHS high-Q team may be cohesive, that doesn’t change the fact that high-Q is a difficult competition, as many schools across the district are competing for the title of ‘winner’.

“It might be competitive for other schools but not us, because El Paso High’s team is really well-rounded. We have someone who’s really good with history, African geography and the world. We also have someone who’s good at music, math and pop culture,” Savannah said.

As long as the questions are appropriate for High Schoolers, they can range in any subject, making high-Q an unpredictable competition.

“There was a question about jazz, then there was something about the Cold War, and then there was a question about geography, and I don’t know half of it. But what I do know, when I get it, it’s very satisfying,” Ulysses said.

Questions aside, even if a team does well, there’s always competition to contend with.

“There are some teams that are super competitive that show up in suits and ties and have slicked hair, but for us, whoever wants to will show up,” Ulysses said. “We’ve gotten second place and last twice this year, so maybe we should start wearing suits.”

Still, members of the EPHS high-Q team feel confident about their abilities, regardless as to whether they’re wearing pajamas or suits.

“I say this with love, but we don’t have an official club. We meet at lunch whenever it happens. Not all of us go all the time. And then we just kind of show up if we want. So it’s not really that serious for us, even though we do really well at it. It’s just a no effort required situation,” Savannah said.

According to the high-Qer’s, there’s one person keeping this team together, their coach, Mr. Lang, an AP Modern World History teacher.

“I think Mr. Lang is the reason that the team is the way that it is. He’s the nicest guy, and I don’t want to say our mentor, but I think he really helps guide us and improve when we’re practicing with him, and he kind of structures everything for us. He’s the reason that we’re as good as we are,” Ulysses said.

Due of the vast variety of topics addressed at high-Q competitions, not even Mr. Lang knows all the answers, but EPHS high-Qer’s note he always goes above and beyond with helping the students learn.

“He’s really knowledgeable. If you have a question, 95% of the time he has the answer and the other 5% of the time he’ll look it up and get back to you with a full packet of information that’s 50 pages long to help you learn,” Savannah said.

Since Mr. Lang has gone on paternity leave, the team has faced multiple issues connected to keeping their schedule going, and staying on top of organization.

“We were already affected by Mr. Lang going on paternity leave for this last tournament, because we didn’t know where or when it was until the night before, then we had to get all the information to everybody, so that was a little rough,” Ulysses said. “We also hadn’t been practicing since he left, so I think it’s heavily affected us.”

Still, the high-Q team has a determination to succeed and keep improving, no matter the odds.

“In his absence, we [the senior captains] will try to teach the younger kids and set an example for them, so when he comes back next year or towards the end of semester, they’ll be in tip top shape and ready to go,” Savannah said.