Christina Kingan ’23
EE Co-Editor-in-Chief

On January 26th, Trumbull High School’s We the People team took home the state championship. After an entire semester of rigorous training and preparation, the team of 26 students continued Trumbull’s winning legacy.

During the past 12 years of competition, Trumbull has won 11 times. Their record can be attributed to the team’s devoted teacher and coach, Ms. Boland, who has thoroughly organized a network of teachers and lawyers who have helped make this team stronger.

“On competition day it was a joy to watch all my students perform at their absolute best”, said Boland.

The team would not have been successful without their coach guiding them to grow and reach their full potential. 

She curated what was termed a “night with the experts” where alumni, teachers, lawyers, and professors were brought in to simulate the state competition questions and prepare the team for the big day.

These experts all have extensive familiarity and research experience on the topics that the team deals with, which made their questions perfect practice for what the team could expect from the state’s judge. Ms. Boland held three of these nights at Trumbull High School. The team would come in their States uniform– formal attire– and would do six rounds of questions.  

BICEN team huddle before the competition where Coach Boland encouraged her students and showed her pride in her team.

The way BICEN is set up, there are six teams of four or five students in each, and they all have three questions. At the competition, each unit will be asked two of their questions, creating a mysterious aspect to what questions they will be asked. Each unit covers a different aspect of politics and has questions regarding them. BICEN has cultivated a team of intelligent students and has fostered a community that not only brings students together but helps each individual grow. 

“BICEN has helped me grow as a student and person, particularly with public speaking,” said BICEN We the People Team member, Sienna Hoefer.

Every student has benefited one way or another, whether it is communication skills, as Hoefer noted, or one of the many other experiences students have expressed like confidence and teamwork.