Maggie L. Walker Places Fourth Nationally at We the People Finals

The 2009 Virginia State Champions Maggie L. Walker Governor's School placed fourth at the We the People National Competition in Washington, D.C.  Maggie Walker emerged from the first day of competition on April 26th as one of the top ten teams at the tournament, earning them a spot at the final round of hearings on Capitol Hill the following day.  After a third and final round of question-and-answer, Maggie Walker earned enough points to place fourth in the nation for the 2009 competition.

Held annually, the We the People National Finals is the culminating event of the yearlong program.  Teams that win their state competition in the fall are eligible to compete in April with a new set of questions at a higher level of difficulty.  Maggie Walker has competed in the National Finals every year since former coach Phil Sorrentino fielded their first team in 1998, and has placed in the Top Ten since 1999.  The 2009 Maggie Walker Team was composed of:

 Unit I: Nick Keller, Kaitlan Lawrence, Arun Moghe, Nitya Rao

Unit II: Thomas Howard III, Ana Martinez de Andino, Ashley Taylor

Unit III: Casey Cardrey, Conor Farrell, Hillary Hurd

Unit IV: Ellen Graham, Mallory Noe-Payne, Caroline Vines, Kevin Xiao

Unit V: Emma England, Megan O'Donnell, Abbie Pettigrew

Unit VI: Leaf Elhai, Cory Hoogakker, Peter Slag

Instructor: Mr. Matt McGuire

Congratulations to Maggie Walker, and best of luck in 2010!