Ten universities court NHI students at Texas CWS in North Texas

The Texas CWS, held at the University of North Texas from July 30 through August 3, brought 123 students from seven states to Denton — and an additional student representing Panama — for an NHI competition that doubled as an opportunity to prepare for the college admissions process.

Though the majority of students hailed from Texas, students from six other states — California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — took part.

The team drafted by the Baylor University representative won both the League Series and the Thought Series competitions. At CWS, students go through a process in which they interview with university representatives before being drafted by those representatives on to teams. Participating universities also included Emory University, Oberlin College & Conservatory, Texas A&M University at College Station, University of Houston, University of North Texas, University of Rochester, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Texas at Tyler.

“The Texas CWS assembles the greatest number of students who have participated many times in NHI’s summer leadership experiences as students or volunteers,” said Nicole Sada, the program’s Educational Director. “It’s the biggest ‘NHI reunion’ around, but it’s also one of the most competitive. Our challenge was shifting the students’ mindset from one of competition to collaboration; I think the communications training and the inquiry training they received will be invaluable tools in their lives. I also think it was one of the strongest programs where students built relationships with their college coaches. All in all, they are 100% ahead of the game walking into their senior year in high school.”

The winning team included:

Maria Alonso, Warren HS, San Antonio, Texas
Mikayla Brama, Hanna HS, Brownsville, Texas
Ricardo Candiani, Eagle Pass HS, Eagle Pass, Texas
Kathryn Clark, St. Anthony Catholic HS, San Antonio, Texas
Matthew Duran, Montwood HS, El Paso, Texas
Holden Hopkins, W.B. Ray HS, Corpus Christi, Texas
Andrea Lau, Colegio Las Eclavas, Panama City, Panama
Giselle Muniz, South San Antonio HS, San Antonio, Texas
Daniella Walter, Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego, Calif.