It’s another national championship for a college from Tuscaloosa.
That’s right – Stillman College.
The Tigers outlasted 64 teams to win the 2023 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship. The challenge is a premier academic competition for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Tigers brought home a $75,000 institutional grant from Honda.
Stillman qualified for the National Championship Tournament after winning a series of regional competitions throughout the academic year. This is the first national championship for Stillman in its 34th year of competing in the Honda Challenge.
In a best two-out-of-three games during the National Championship match, Stillman defeated Tuskegee University by answering questions about history, science, literature, religion, the arts and pop culture.
Tuskegee was awarded a $30,000 grant for finishing second. Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University and Oakwood University in Huntsville tied for third and each received a $20,000 grant.
Dr. Thomas Steven Jennings coached the winning team with Team Captain Carla Louca, a senior religion major from Tuscaloosa; Susannah Britain LeMay, a journalism student from Fredericksburg, Va.; Jaela Williams, a criminal justice major from Huntsville; and Zharia Nubia Lankford, a senior journalism major from Douglasville, Ga.
As a bonus for this year’s tournament, Honda awarded an additional $1,000 in institutional
grants to schools that earned perfect scores in the final round – the Ultimate Challenge. Teams have 60 seconds to answer 10 questions during a rapid-fire round.
Oakwood and Stillman had two perfect Ultimate Challenge rounds and Winston-Salem State University had one.
“Congratulations to the scholars from Stillman College who committed themselves to excelling in this competition and secured the 2023 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge championship title,” said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion & Diversity at American Honda Motor Co. “HCASC provides HBCU students a platform to pursue their passion for learning and love of knowledge while building leadership skills, long-lasting friendships and so much more.
“We appreciate the tremendous dedication and academic talent shown by all of the students who participated in this year’s program.”
Marking their fourth year since returning to a live format, the challenge provides a national stage for high-achieving HBCU students to advance their skills and careers. The event was hosted on the American Honda corporate campus in Torrance, Calif.
More than 200 HBCU students with their coaches participated in this year’s National Championship tournament.
Beyond the competition, the HCASC program included student networking opportunities and activities with HBCU presidents and representatives.
Honda provided more than $400,000 in institutional grants to the participating HBCUs. Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a year-round program that celebrates Black excellence and challenges students to expand their scope of knowledge on a wide range of topics.
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