Academic Decathlon

 Yesterday, I volunteered at an event called Academic Decathlon.  It's a high school competition, an after school club.  The kids have to complete 10 events to include speeches, examinations,  interviews, essays.  I've volunteered for AD for about 6 years.  I have always judged interviews.  Two judges work together,  conduct the 7 minute  interview and then individually score the student, based NOT on content, but on grammar, language, eye contact, ability to completely answer a question,  appearance, etc.   

It's always so fun,  the kids almost always blow me away with their answers to questions like... 'What are you most passionate about in your life? '. 'Tell us about a time you had to choose between right and wrong' 'If you could be anywhere in the world right now,  where would you be? And why.' 'Tell us about a lesson you have learned outside of the classroom.'

My friend Mary had hoped to come down and be my partner,  but the weather was crappy.  So,  I got matched up with Chris. He is our County Sheriff. 

We spent 4 hours together.  We had a lot of time between interviews to chat.  I learned about our county and the sheriff's department.  He was very interesting and open and anwered every question I asked and weighed in on topics that I brought up. He shared his insight on issues that he sees as critical in our area. He also gave me his card and encouraged me to text, email or call if I have questions or concerns.  I left there feeling really good about the Sheriff & his team. 

The students we interviewed were all amazing.  I gave higher scores yesterday than I have in the whole 5 years I've been doing this.  We both agreed that these kids made our day and we really enjoyed our time with each of the kids.  We were done by noon, just as the snow kicked in, so I was safely home before the roads got slick. 

All in all,  a very good day for me. 

Note: Sheriff Fitzgerald took the lead in the Jayme Closs case 5 years ago.  If you don't live in this area....this young girl was kidnapped by an intruder who murdered her parents, who lived just outside of Barron, WI. Jayme was held captive for 88 days in a remote location about 75 miles North of here. She escaped and was rescued by a neighbor.  During that 88 days, Sheriff Fitzgerald was in the news almost daily.  He kept the vigil and never gave up hope. He became a bit of a celebrity locally.  

Yesterday Sheriff Fitzgerald shared that Jayme is now in college and is leading a fairly normal life.