GDx3 Pioneers International Teams, North Texas Strikes Gold

he National Hispanic Institute just completed its first truly international tournament of 2021, with the GDx 3 bringing students from Mexico and Panama into the mix along with a cohort of U.S. students.

The tournament, with CSU-Pueblo serving as digital host, aligned the participants into teams, with Mexico, the Midwest and Corpus Christi joining in one NHI Global team against the contingents from El Paso and North Texas.

The North Texas team (which also included West Texas and Panama students) was declared winners of the event, with El Paso finishing second and the combined team featuring Corpus Christi, Midwest, and Mexico students finishing third.

“I think this year was more challenging than ever for a lot of reasons and that’s why I am so proud of our NTX Alliance,” said NHI board member and NTX Alliance Project Administrator George Rodriguez. “It isn’t about the win but about the effort and the persistence. Like many Alliances, we struggled to keep the training fresh and engaging online. We struggled with the ‘virtual burnout’ and we struggled with expanding beyond Dallas County. We had facilitators conducting training sessions while on vacation out of the country and we had learners from as far away as Panama. In the end, our head coach, the learners, and the facilitators knocked it out of the park.”

This Instagram video showed a priceless reaction from the North Texas camp.

Award winners for the tournament included:

Cross-Examination

• 1st Place: Angelica Serna, Coronado HS, El Paso, Texas and Diego Meringer, El Paso HS, El Paso, Texas (El Paso)
• 2nd Place: Ariana Lugo, International Leadership of Texas: Keller Saginaw HS, Fort Worth, Texas and Iker Navarro, International Leadership of Texas: Keller Saginaw HS, Fort Worth, Texas (North Texas)
• All-State: Stuart Aldrete (North Texas) and Cesar Franco, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza, Saltillo, Mexico (NHI Global)

Oratory

• 1st Place: Stephany Flores, Oxford International School, Panamá, Panamá (North Texas)
• 2nd Place: Victoria Myers, School for the Talented and Gifted at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, Dallas, Texas (North Texas)
• All-State: Lilian Lujan, Midland HS, Midland, Texas (North Texas)

Extemporaneous Speaking

• 1st Place: Giann Ruiz, Jesuit Preparatory School of Dallas, Dallas, Texas (North Texas)
• 2nd Place: Julian Rodriguez, Franklin HS, El Paso, Texas (El Paso)
• All-State: Tara Gunter, Coronado HS, El Paso, Texas (El Paso)

Team Trial

1st Place: Luke Santoni, Jesuit Preparatory School of Dallas, Dallas, Texas and Frida Gonzalez-Olgin, The Westwood School, Dallas, Texas (North Texas)
2nd Place: Nicole Otero, and Santiago Melendez, El Paso HS, El Paso, Texas (El Paso)
All-State: Mia Barnes, W.B. Ray HS, Corpus Christi, Texas and Brinkley Hopkins, W.B. Ray HS, Corpus Christi, Texas (NHI Global)

Athenaeum

1st Place: House Magnolia

• Cesar Franco, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza, Saltillo, Mexico (NHI Global)
• Santiago Melendez, El Paso HS, El Paso, Texas (El Paso)
• Victoria Myers, School for the Talented and Gifted at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, Dallas, Texas (North Texas)
• Stephany Flores, Oxford International School, Panamá, Panamá (North Texas)

2nd Place: House Maxwell

• Mia Barnes, W.B. Ray HS, Corpus Christi, Texas (NHI Global)
• Frida Gonzalez-Olgin, The Westwood School, Dallas, Texas (North Texas)
• Julian Rodriguez, Franklin HS, El Paso, Texas (El Paso)

And the most improved members of each cohort were:

• Corpus Christi: Brinkley Hopkins, W.B. Ray HS and Mia Barnes, W.B. Ray HS
• El Paso: Santiago Melendez, El Paso HS
• Mexico: Julieta Faz Rodriguez, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza, Saltillo, Mexico and Cesar Franco, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza, Saltillo, Mexico
• Midwest: Isaac Lainez, Sumner Academy of Arts & Science, Kansas City, Kansas
• North Texas: Mark Violante, Liberty HS, Frisco, Texas

The 2021 GDx programs are sponsored in part by State Farm.