Livingstone College News Service

Livingstone College competed in the National Qualifying Tournament of the 36th Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC), America’s premier academic competition for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students on Feb. 22, at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.

In the tournament, teams of four faced off in head-to-head competition and quickly answered questions about history, science, literature, religion, math, the arts, pop culture and sports against their opponents.

Livingstone placed second at the NC A&T State University location, securing the Blue Bears as one of the Thrilling 32 teams competing for institutional grants from Honda and a spot in the HCASC National Championship Tournament taking place on the American Honda corporate campus in Torrance, California  April 12-16. 

The Livingstone College team includes captain and freshman biology major Carter Thompson of Indianapolis, Indiana, senior business administration major Jacob Adkins of King, senior business administration major Jayden Mungo of Charlotte and sophomore English education major Kamari Scales of Gibsonville. The team is coached by Honors Director Dr. Da’Tarvia Parrish. 

Team captain Carter Thompson said, “HCASC has been a highlight in my freshman experience as an undergraduate student. I love the challenge. I love the people. I love it all and I am looking forward to competing in the nationals in April. The reward grants me the opportunity to meet other quiz bowl players and even Honda executives.”

HCASC is a year-round program celebrating Black excellence and showcasing the academic talents of top HBCU students from across the country. HCASC challenges students to expand their scope of knowledge on a wide range of topics while also helping to develop their leadership and collaboration skills. With the opportunity to compete against students from other HBCUs, participants network, build camaraderie and gain mentorship opportunities with HCASC alumni. This year, Honda will provide more than $400,000 in institutional grants to the participating HBCUs with many of the schools utilizing the grants to fund student scholarships. More than 170,000 scholars have competed in HCASC since the academic tournament was established in 1989. For more information, visit www.hcasc.com.