In the midst of college applications and preparing for graduation, hundreds of high school seniors have hurried to get their final history credit.

It is easy to get lost in the daily monotony of high school, and when a class can find a way to extend beyond the classroom, the concepts of the class are genuinely treasured. The Honors We the People class was chosen by dozens of students who wish to explore the philosophical intricacies of the Constitution.

Principal Dan Serrano sees the evolution of Honors We the People as positive growth, “When we first opened eight years ago, that [class] was something… we didn’t cultivate, but it is being cultivated now. Now we have a teacher [that] is really into it and the students are into it,” he says.

However, what makes this class unique is the competition throughout the class, district, regional and finally a national level in Washington D.C. The students in the class have been preparing the entire semester for the competition held on December 6th at Gilbert High School.

The competition included rounds of questions which mock a congressional hearing as well as the content of the Constitution. Many of these questions are prepared by the students, but most are asked unexpected follow-up questions.

Honors We the People teacher Tana Berrelleza expands about the competition, “There are six units, or six teams and they have a special emphasis or specialty about the Constitution and they prepare for three questions. They are four minutes long and the judges at the competition ask six minutes of follow up questions,” she says.

The anticipation which surrounded it is one of great intensity and importance. The several months of preparation has assisted them to reach their ultimate goal of achieving personal success.

Students such as Dequota Wilson expected the most out of the competition this year, “I hope we do good… we have been working and learning about the Constitution… for a long time [and] working on these questions for a while.”

Answering rapid fire questions required an accumulation of months of hard work for Berrelleza’s students. Although the two teams from the school did not place in the top three teams, their efforts and determination was challenged when they entered the competition.