SU Students to compete in 29th Annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship

After participating in a National Qualifying Tournament, Southern University at Baton Rouge will compete against fellow Historically Black Colleges and Universities at the 29th annual Honda Campus All?Star Challenge National Championship Tournament. Teams from 48 HBCUs will go head-to-head in the national championship of America's premier academic quiz for top HBCU students on the American Honda Motor Co. Inc. campus in Torrance, California. Southern University at Baton Rouge has the opportunity to win the HCASC top prize - a $75,000 institutional grant from Honda.

Southern will be represented by Joyner Deamer, a junior from Carbondale, Illinois, majoring in civil engineering; Kelvin P. Wells Jr., a junior from Baton Rouge majoring in political science and international relations; Christopher L. Braggs, a sophomore from Shreveport majoring in finance; and William A. Waddell, a freshman from Oakley, California, majoring in biology. Faculty member Deadra James Mackie will coach the team.

“I am extremely proud of our students and their coach for achieving such greatness,” said Ray L. Belton, Southern University president-chancellor. “I know they will continue to represent Southern well as they return to this prestigious competition.”

Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a year?round program that includes campus engagement, intramural play, qualifying tournaments and culminates with the National Championship. The fast?paced competition highlights students' academic prowess and ability to answer questions about history, science, literature, religion, the arts and pop culture. As a result, students expand their scope of knowledge; learn teamwork and sportsmanship; travel to California to represent their schools at the National Championship Tournament; and develop a bond with their fellow competitors. HCASC's active alumni group also supports students with networking and mentorship opportunities post?graduation.