Five graduate students from Eastern New Mexico University won the 2018 EBS Knowledge Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Oct. 19. The EBS Knowledge Bowl, part of the New Mexico Speech-Language Hearing Association's (NMSHA) Annual Convention, is a competition between the universities in New Mexico offering communicative disorders programs: ENMU, the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University.

According to the NMSHA website, students participate in the competition to prepare for the Praxis examination in speech-language pathology. The Knowledge Bowl highlights test construction, format and test-taking strategies. Teams from each university are asked sample Praxis questions from various resources including previous Praxis exams, SIG's, as well as study resources, in a game show format and use clickers to answer. Subject matter experts provide clarification and examples for questions requiring greater focus. Audience members are encouraged to provide their perspectives.

The five ENMU students who took part in the event were Jayme Gage, Rebecca Lodato, Camille Hernandez, Elizabeth Griego and Kristin Sandoval (alternate). After self-nominating, the students were chosen by team coaches for being the "best and brightest," according to Dr. Adrienne Bratcher, associate professor of communicative disorders at ENMU.

Dwayne Wilkerson and Nicole Bougie, who are both instructors of communicative disorders, served as team coaches along with Dr. Bratcher. Coach Dr. Suzanne Swift, professor of communicative disorders, rooted for the team from a distance and received play-by-plays.

The team motto for the year, #StepStraightThrowHard, was chosen in honor of Jackson Swift, Dr. Swift's son.

"To each of the coaches the win was a sweet victory and one that they could not be more proud of this year," said Dr. Bratcher.

Last year, the first year in a long while that EBS Healthcare put on the Knowledge Bowl, the ENMU team lost by a slim margin.

"To win this year, was something that we really needed," explained Dr. Bratcher. "To go into battle, fight hard, play hard and come out victorious- who doesn't love that? There were definitely some hugs, high fives, cheers and even a few tears!"

Three of the ENMU students who competed discussed their experience:

Camille Hernandez-Morris

How did you prepare for the event?

Studying PRAXIS test prep questions from the Speech-Language Pathology Review and Study Guide Book and online tests.

What was your experience like competing in this event?

Before the event I was nervous but once the Knowledge Bowl started and the initial questions were revealed I felt confident that we were well prepared for the competition.

What was your favorite part of the event?

Winning it for ENMU and all the professors that have invested time in teaching and training us!

Rebecca Lodato

How did you prepare for the event?

I completed the TherapyEd. Practice Exams provide in the study book and through the computer program. I also reviewed a lot of material from previous classes (so shout out to all CDIS professors).

What was your experience like competing in this event?

The event was terrifying but exciting! It helped me in realizing that I have gained much more knowledge than I think I have over the past year and a half.

What was your favorite part of the event?

I found the last round to be the most exciting! For this round, the quicker you answered, the more points you received. Therefore, it was an exhilarating challenge to read fast and answer even faster!

Jayme Gage

How did you prepare for the event?

The team and I collaborated via Skype. One of the members set up study guides and practice questions. We also looked over practice exams in the TherapyEd study guide.

What was your experience like competing in this event?

The experience was a fun, stressful and exciting! Having the professors there to support us made me nervous but also determined to make them proud!

What was your favorite part of the event?

My favorite part of the event was winning, of course! Aside from that, I liked having our students and professors come together for this event. I think it was a neat experience and I'm glad I got to share it with everyone that was there to support us.