Ever since middle school, I have been participating in a variety of academic competitions, both team and solo. It feeds my love of learning by exposing me to all manner of topics, and gives me a way to have fun with what I have learnt. The social camaraderie it builds, and the spirit of friendly competition, are also great. Through it, I’ve made some great friends both in my own school and across the country who I enjoy spending time with.
Quiz Bowl is a team activity where students compete, typically on teams of four, to answer questions from pretty much every subject area you can think of – literature, physics, philosophy, math, history, economics, even videogames. It is fast paced, intense, and a lot of fun. If you’re interested, you can find the full rules for the NAQT style here.
Results
| Tournament | Team Result | Individual Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Cup 4: Northern Regional (12/16/24) | 🥇 1st 🥇 (out of 53) | 8th (out of 208) | Co-Captain. Set multiple records for LIQBA tournaments |
| Island Cup 6 (10/26/24) | 🥉 3rd 🥉 (out of 24) | 🥈 2nd 🥈 (out of 89) | Captain Top Team Scorer |
| Princeton High School Academic Tournament XXXI (9/21/24) | 🥇 1st 🥇 (out of 25) | 24th (out of 106) | Co-Captain |
| Coastal Clash (8/10/24) | 🥇 1st 🥇 (out of 16) | 22nd (out of 56) | Co-Captain |
| Lightning Run V (6/28/24) | 4th (out of 30) | 🥈 2nd 🥈 (out of 59) | Captain Top Team Scorer |
| 2024 PACE NSC (6/8/24) | 22nd (out of 72) | 23rd (out of 295) | Rising Star Award Top 3 sophomore Top 4 underclassmen Captain Top Team Scorer |
| 2024 HSNCT (5/24/24) | 65th (out of 320) | 115 (out of 1610) | Captain Top Team Scorer Top 20 sophomore |
| SOHO (4/21/24) | 9th (out of 11) | 🥈 2nd 🥈 (out of 39) | Captain Top Team Scorer |
| Garden Cup 3 (12/16/23) | 17th (out of 64) | 13th (out of 252) | Captain Top Team Scorer |
| Princeton High School Academic Tournament XXX (9/23/23) | 🥇 1st 🥇 (out of 28) | 42nd (out of 116) | Co-Captain |
| 2023 HSNCT (5/26/23) | 138th (out of 304) | 300th (out of 1000+) | Top 20 freshmen |
| 2022 MSNCT (5/6/22) | 21st (out of 140) | 52nd (out of 671) | Co-Captain |
| Darien Spring Academic Competition (4/2/22) | 🥉 3rd 🥉 | 🥇 1st 🥇 | Captain Top Team Scorer |
| New Jersey Middle School Academic League (2/2/21) | 🥉 3rd 🥉 | 🥈 2nd 🥈 (out of 156) | Captain Top Team Scorer |
| 2021 Middle School National Championship (5/1/21) | 58th | 75th (out of 588) | Top Team Scorer 25th best 7th grader |
Achievements
Livingston Team A Ranked 1st in Nation
In the first rankings released for the 2024 season, the Livingston A team – consisting of seniors Robert Wang, Lelun Li, Kevin Zhang, and junior Arav Kaushik – is ranked the number one team in the United States!
Arav recognized as a Rising Star
At the 2024 PACE NSC Competition, Arav was recognized as a Rising Star for being among the top-scoring individual players in 9th and 10th grade.
HMS Middle School Quiz Bowl Comes Third, Arav Kaushik Places 1st Individually
At the 2022 National Academic Quiz Tournament (NAQT) Regional Quiz Bowl held in Connecticut, Heritage Middle School’s eighth grade Quiz Bowl team earned a third-place finish. Arav Kaushik won first place in the individual competition by attaining the highest individual score.
Public Forum Debate
I have been participating in Public Forum Debate tournaments since Middle School, taking part in regional and national tournaments like Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, Goergetown Fall Invitational, NSDA MS Nationals, and more. My team will routinely place in the top 3rd, and I really thrive on the detailed level of research required to get truly in-depth on the topics.
History Bowl
History Bowl is a team activity where students compete, typically on teams of four, to answer questions from ancient to modern history. Though it is more narrowly focused than Quiz Bowl, I still love it. Plus, we’re really good at it.
| Tournament | Team Result | Individual Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey History Bowl State Championships (1/20/25) | 5th (out of 22) | N/A | |
| New Jersey History Bee State Championships (1/20/25) | N/A | 9th (out of 37) | |
| Junior Varsity National History Bowl (4/27/24) | 13th (out of 120) | N/A | |
| Junior Varsity National History Bee (4/28/24) | N/A | 54th (out of 128) |
Achievements
Livingston High School History Bowl Team Honored
Members of the Livingston High School (LHS) Varsity and Junior Varsity History Bowl teams were honored with township proclamations for their performances during the 2024 season.
Middle School Debate Team Shines in HS Debate Tournament
Middle School eighth graders Arav Kaushik and Sara Muni debated at the high school-level Open Public Forum Debate event of the 2022 Appalachian Speech and Debate Championship, where Kaushik received the award for “Best Speaker.” [Link]