As fun as it was getting to talk about how good my teammates are as players (please vote for them in the player poll!), they are even better people and I’m lucky to have had the chance to get to know them over the past three years. As fearsome as the Evil Empire of Chicago’s reputation may be as a team, I always found it welcoming and I was so happy to get a chance to be with the team for four years. However, I was lucky to find that the WUSTL team was every bit as kind, committed, and pleasant to be around, and I hope that the friendships I’ve made on the team prove to last just as long as the ones I made in Chicago.
To begin, Charles. I don’t think the community quite understands how much Charles has done for the lower Midwest circuit, and for the WUSTL team in particular. It’s a certainty that without Charles’s constant support we wouldn’t have such a big and fun team, and that the lower Midwest circuit as a whole would be radically different. Charles is at pretty much every practice, and he’s always happy to read for people, to organize tournament logistics, and to provide a kind presence that lights up the room. He's always happy to explain a question whenever somebody asks, and he has a lot of stories and anecdotes that are fun to listen to at practice, as well as a series of jokes that range from genuinely funny to intentionally groan-inducing. The fact that Charles has a full-time job, that he takes classes, and he still finds the time to drive half an hour to and from practice twice a week is astounding, leaving aside the time he sets aside for everything else. Over his time at WUSTL, Charles has also done incredible work to make the team self-sustaining, meaning that even after he leaves the team can hopefully continue to run WUHSAC and provide a solid presence in the Midwestern circuit. It might’ve been easier for him to just do everything himself, and keep functioning as a quasi-officer on the team, but Charles put in a great deal of extra time and effort to make sure the officers of the team have all the tools they need to keep the team as strong as ever, and the circuit as a whole will benefit. In addition, this year Charles organized team meetings to check in about studying, read books in areas the team was weak on, and overall just did the yeoman’s work to make sure that the team was progressing but that everyone was remaining happy and not stressed. Charles is also a crucial member of the WUSTL club’s social scene, taking the time to organize summer hangouts. A common theme among the (many) people I have to thank for providing me such a good experience at WUSTL was that they allowed me to just show up to what I could, and I appreciated that a lot. Certainly, Charles was just as busy if not moreso than me, but he always made time for the team and kept it running in a way that I never would’ve had the energy for. I hope we can remain friends well after I graduate, and I’ll certainly enjoy looking at the pictures of the team on Facebook and remembering the good times we’ve had over the previous three years.
Next, Annabelle. I was very happy to learn that Annabelle was coming to WUSTL, because I knew of her by reputation as a nice person who knew things in categories that I absolutely do not. Well, both of those things are true, but they are massive understatements. Annabelle is such a good person, and it’s hard not to be impressed by everything she can do inside the game and out of it. I will never cease to be amazed by the fact that she can make things with needles during games, as well as while doing med school cards and watching TV. There is no possibility that me trying the same would end in anything other than bloodshed. Annabelle and I both had a lot of school related things going on this semester, so I didn’t get to see her at practice as much, but it was always awesome to see her at practice, and it was certainly rewarding when all of her STEP studying resulted in a superb bio performance at ACF Nationals! Like Charles, Anabelle is incredibly busy with various parts of Real Life, but she still managed to make plenty of time for quiz bowl. She is always calm, wonderful to be around, and honestly one of the highlights of the year was getting to see her excitement at Duke’s hosting of Nats, and her happiness to show people around and see old friends. Unlike Charles, she retains a firm appreciation of the trees surrounding Durham, which is a quality I never thought I would have to appreciate. Lastly, I haven’t cared about the mythology category for some time, but Annabelle’s genuine love of the subject and the effort she puts into her questions has given me some motivation to maybe look into learning and appreciating the category again, which would be a great thing to have back. I know that wherever she ends up after St. Louis she’ll be just as positive a presence as she continues to be for WUSTL, and her dedication to helping both the team and people at large is unmatched.
Next, Paul. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Paul for even longer than the other members of the team, since we actually played in high school. While I had the opportunity of getting to see how good he was as a player in high school, I never really got the chance to know him until I came to WUSTL. I hadn’t realized that Paul was a basketball fan, and I enjoyed getting to talk to him about that, even though as a Bucks fan he’s experienced more happiness in his basketball lifetime so far than I expect to my first 35 years on this earth. Paul is always upbeat, and he was reliably bemused by the fact that I read in First Aid in my misspent youth, while having the decency to refrain from comment about the “realness” of my science knowledge. What I said in the player poll was true: Paul’s presence on the team at Nationals was both stabilizing in game and wonderful out of game. It would have been so easy for him to use the fact that he had a wedding in California the day before as an excuse to miss nationals, or the fact that he had to miss some rounds to start the tournament. However, he took the redeye from California instead, which I’m sure was not a fun experience but speaks to his dedication to the team and his willingness to be there for us. I hope he continues to play as long as his schedule allows it, but even if he gives up the game for a while or for good I deeply appreciated getting to play with him. I’ve frequently seen Eric Mukherjee talk about wanting Paul to succeed online, and I feel the same way: There are few teammates I’ve appreciated playing with as much as Paul, and I hope to join Eric for years to come talking about how well Paul is doing at tournaments.
Following Paul, Amith: Like Annabelle, Amith was one of the people who entered WUSTL with me, although he’s one of our many med school-PhD students, which means that when I visit the team I should be able to see him again several times! It’s been so fun getting to know him over the three years, from jokes about how we should make the team more evil in Chicago’s image, to discussing his cats, to discussing a whole host of things on the way to ICT and Nats. As I mentioned in the player poll thread, he studied a solid amount of geography in the months leading up to the tournament (which was reflected in him being among the top geography players at ACF Nationals)! However, he had also listened to every album of the year nominee except for one. Amith’s interests are so varied that it’s easy to find a topic of conversation with him, and his personality is so engaging that you can’t help but become his friend. I always enjoyed getting to see him at practice and tournaments, and I’ll be very excited to see him at Midwest tournaments to come. You should all absolutely try to talk to him at tournaments, you will not be disappointed.
Jeremy is one of the most interesting people I’ve met through quiz bowl. He’s capable of making even math seem approachable and interesting. As long as I’ve known Jeremy he’s been a fixture of the team, reliably attending practices and attending pretty much every team social event there is. Jeremy is always willing to drive for the team, and he provides both pleasant conversation and a wide variety of excellent classical music to make car rides more enjoyable! Without him, Amith and I never would’ve found out that the end of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is a banger after ICT. Jeremy is also a fantastic teammate, with the same calmness, wit, and love of knowledge reflecting in his play. He’s both low neg and happy to get a question on any “impossible” topic you’d think of. Jeremy also loves quiz bowl more than almost anyone I’ve met, and his dedication to playing as many tournaments as possible (up to some inconceivable round number) is not something that I could ever match, but it is something that I appreciate and would hope others can strive to emulate.
Neal is certainly one of the funniest members of WUSTL’s team, as you may have noticed from his Discord posts. He’s also a prominent member of the club, as both a vice president this year and (I believe) the full-fledged president next year. Neal attends so many tournaments, and I think he’s been at nearly every practice that I’ve been at. He’s always happy to read for practice, which is particularly helpful when we have to split up our rooms and need somebody to read for the room that’s playing less difficult questions. I’m sure many people would chafe at this (since they don’t get the opportunity to stay with the higher level questions) but Neal always takes the opportunity in stride, and provides the younger players with helpful commentary and with his wit and kindness on top of that! As Neal mentioned, I got to spend the flight to and from Nationals with him, and we basically talked the entire time. It was wonderful to end my WUSTL career on that note, as while Neal pointed out we never got the chance to play together at a tournament, I still got to talk to him plenty, and to play with him at practice where I could get a chance to experience his high-level skill for the game and his delightful personality. As I told Charles, I’d love to play with him again at some point in the future, and hopefully there will be a chance to play with Neal in the future as well. Until then, he’ll continue being a crucial part of the team, and a welcome presence at any tournament he chooses to attend. I know he already has plenty of friends in the game, but many more people are missing out on how fun it is to talk to him.
Jonah was the club president this year, and he did an amazing job organizing logistics, directing tournaments, and coming to a bunch of practices. He’s always a pleasure to talk to, whether it’s about one of his quiz bowl interests (the Roman Empire, Abrahamic religions, various other odds and ends), or his non quiz bowl interests such as the Patriots (oof). It was fantastic playing with him at SCT, where he demonstrated both that his PPG remains exactly the same regardless of teammate or opponent (the stuff he gets he will ALWAYS get) and that he’s a very fun teammate, always quick with a joke or a fun story about a buzz or bonus pull. The WUSTL team will sorely miss him, and I hope he gets a chance to staff or play a tournament or two out in Seattle, or to play a few tournaments online.
Gavin was our treasurer this year, and he was instrumental in us getting all of our money collected from WUHSAC. While we do get some funding, the extra funding we get from tournaments is crucial for making sure that grad students don’t have to be entirely self funded. Gavin and the other officers made sure to (politely!) hound teams to make sure that we got paid and that the money came in soon enough that it could help fund travel for graduate students. Gavin also attended many practices, and was always happy to read as well as to play and contribute on a team! I look forward to a hopefully long tenure for him as an officer, and for his role on the team both as a player and as a leader to only go up from here!
And now, Sophie. Sophie is one of our newer officers, and she’s the first social media coordinator I’ve ever had on a team! It’s very nice after tournaments to get a post talking about how the team did and making people excited for the next one, and I’m glad that we created an Instagram page and hope it continues. Please follow at https://www.instagram.com/washuqb?utm_s ... c0MzIxNw== (Apologies if this is wrong, I never quite got the hang of Instagram). Sophie is always a welcome presence at practice and tournaments, bringing excitement, positive energy, and good buzzes in lots of categories. The team is lucky to have her, and I hope she continues having a great time with quiz bowl.
A quick shoutout to our other club presidents during our tenure: Em and Mia. Like Matt said in the thread above, one of the best things for a grad student like me is being able to show up and play quiz bowl, and both of them did an admirable job keeping the club in good shape for me to be able to do that. I genuinely can’t remember a logistical snafu during my time in the club, and I deeply appreciate that I had such competent officers. The WashU team’s success wouldn’t be possible without the officers, and I think it’s very important for them to be recognized. They are also wonderful people who I hope are having excellent post-grad lives.
Next, June. While it’s a shame I never got to play with you (certainly your science knowledge in particular is very impressive, and the breadth and realness of your knowledge certainly seems like it’d be fun to play alongside), I certainly enjoyed getting to know you on the way to Nationals last year and SCT this year. It was so awesome that you packed into the car for three hours to and from a tournament just to staff, the quiz bowl community could se even more people like you!
Finally, Sebastian, Henry, Rohan, Conner, Hrudy, Greta, Don, and all of our younger players. While I didn’t get to talk to all of you as much as I would’ve liked (although playing with Don at SCT was a pleasure!) I am happy you all are on the team and I hope you continue to play. We couldn't have done what we did this year without every one of you.
