At the practices for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Academic Bowl team at Connections at University High School, the spirit of competitiveness is palpable. Although not a word is uttered, much is said by the team of four via frantic signing, plenty of laughs and looks that express a roller coaster of emotions.
The team recently placed fourth at the Western Academic Bowl Regionals competition, earning them a coveted trip to the National Academic Bowl competition hosted by Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., one of the nation’s leading deaf universities. With only two months to prepare, the team is ramping up their practices — and their excitement.
“Oh, it gives me even more motivation to keep studying harder, just to make sure I learn everything,” Cindy Rodriguez said, a senior in her third year on the team. “Sometimes in the morning, I’ll just text one of my friends one of the Academic Bowl questions and see if I get a response from them.”
At regionals, Rodriguez was named one of six all-stars out of the 16 teams present, an accomplishment that speaks to her passion for competition and winning.
“I would say the most challenging part [about being on the team] has been accepting defeat,” she said. “I’m a very competitive person. I want to win.”
Rodriguez’s early life
Rodriguez’s path to Academic Bowl all-stardom, however, hasn’t been easy.
As a child, she suffered from severe language delay, meaning she was not exposed to language during her most critical developmental years. This setback significantly hindered her literacy skills. In sixth grade, her reading level was assessed at just a first-grade level — a considerable gap from her expected grade level.
It wasn’t until she joined the Connections DHH Program at Venado Middle School that her reading skills began to improve. There, a dedicated teacher worked one-on-one with her, helping her bridge the gap and rebuild her skills.
“It was really a challenge, but I love challenges,” Rodriguez said.
Determined to improve, she read every book she could get her hands on, and within a few years, her reading level had surpassed her grade expectations, placing her multiple grades ahead. The stark difference between her early struggles and her later success highlights not only her perseverance but also her incredible capacity for growth.
Key to team’s success
While Rodriguez’s academic development has certainly contributed to her team’s success, the Academic Bowl, afterall, is a team competition, and her teammates Aleena, Aissa and Erik are equally responsible for the team’s performance. One of the team’s co-coaches, Brendan Bonette, believes it’s their ability to bring the best out of each other that is key.
“Some years, they just don’t mesh; the students just don’t get along,” Bonette said. “But this year, I think this is one of the most fun years we’ve had in a long time.”
That much is clear. At practice, their energy is infectious — so much so that they encourage the interpreters to join in and face off in a trivia duel. They truly care for their craft, which isn’t as common among high school students, especially since the team’s “craft” is knowledge. This passion is instilled from the top by co-coaches Bonette and Moises Jaramillo.
A graduate of the Connections DHH program, member of the school’s inaugural Academic Bowl team and teacher for the program, Bonette has seen a number of teams over the years since joining as a coach in 2013. Similarly, Jaramillo is an alumnus of the program and team, having won a national championship with the school in 2009.
As nationals approach, a second national championship is obviously the goal, but there’s a theme that sticks out even more so than winning: the relationships built throughout the process and every moment in between.
“I would say probably the thing that I’m going to take away is just being with each other,” Rodriguez said. “Being with all of our friends and seeing who can learn more about each other, and just being really surprised by the people on our team. I just love it.”
Bonette echoed the same sentiment, reinforcing the value of the time spent together.
“You can’t beat the experience,” he said. “This is something you’re going to remember for the rest of your life.”