A Scholar’s Pwaa-la Lumpur Adventure
“Pwaa!” — the sound of a very happy alpaca, the official animal of the World Scholar’s Cup.
The World Scholar’s Cup is an international academic competition which aims to bring together students from all around the globe to discuss and learn about the different issues that our world deals with today. Themed “An Entangled World”, the WSC was successful in making the delegates realize that, truly, we live in an entangled world.
The event is spread across three rounds: the regional, global, and tournament of champions. Each competition is composed of four main parts which are team debate, collaborative writing, the Scholar’s Challenge, and the Scholar’s Bowl. With teams of three, you must go through all four events in hopes of qualifying for the next round.
Last June 18 to 23, 18 delegates, including myself, went to Kuala Lumpur to represent the country, and the school, in WSC 2018’s Global Rounds.
Though this may be an academic competition, my personal favorite part of the World Scholar’s Cup was the overall atmosphere and the general vibe of the event. Normally, you would expect a tense, nearly hostile ambiance. In reality, it just felt like a group of friends meeting up. Sitting in the auditorium and seeing all the new friends I’ve made during the regional rounds felt so heartwarming. One of our newfound friends actually became an adopted member of the DLSZ delegation, because he stayed with us for a huge part of the event. Despite the geographical distance between us, we always manage to keep in touch until today. A new entanglement in our lives that time will have a difficulty severing.
Another memorable experience would have to be the scholar’s scavenger hunt. The WSC team rented out an entire amusement park. We were grouped with participants from different countries. No team had any two members from the same delegation. It really promoted their goal of meeting new people and making new friends — even after the round was over.
In the World Scholar’s Cup community, a Facebook group was created so hosts and other scholars can interact. We keep each other updated with the regional and global rounds. Interestingly, a certain Filipino scholar and his team left their personal mark on the community, founding everyone’s new favorite page, WSC Crushes. It is a Facebook page where everyone can post about the newfound crushes they met during the WSC. Despite all our varying cultural backgrounds, the community remains so supportive and loving to one another. WSC really helps people break out of their shell and interact with new friends.
In all honesty, I had absolutely no regrets in joining this event. Two teams, my team and another group of three, from the DLSZ delegation, are now preparing to head to Yale University for the final round, the Tournament of Champions, and there is nothing else that is more exciting! The World Scholar’s Cup was an avenue for us to meet new people and create new connections and entanglements. For any future scholar who is considering this competition, don’t be intimidated by the brevity of the situation. When the opportunity presents itself, take it and embrace it. You won’t regret it.
About the author: Gerard Ignacio is the Senior High School Associate Editor of Counterpoint. He is a Grade 12 student in De La Salle Zobel-Vermosa under the Humanities and Social Sciences strand. He is the student strand leader of the HUMSS strand, and a delegate of DLSZ for the World Scholars Cup (season 2018), and has been a member of the publication since A.Y. 2014–2015. He’s an insomniac who loves to sleep, and he’s the only person he knows who considers himself funny.
