WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today congratulated Thornton Academy students for their participation in the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., last week. After earning the right to compete in Washington by winning the Maine state competition, the students placed 8^th out of 49 high school teams from around the nation.  

“Congratulations to the hardworking team from Thornton Academy on an impressive performance in Washington,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “These students competed against some of the brightest minds in the country and demonstrated great preparation and intellect. We are proud of their exciting accomplishment.”

Hosted by the World Affairs Council of America, the Academic WorldQuest National Competition engages high school students from across the country to test their knowledge of global issues and foreign policy. The 2016 topics were: NATO; Privacy in the Digital Age; International Trade and Finance; Current Events; Asia Matters for America; the Arctic; Food Security; Organization of American States; Great Decisions; and the Sultanate of Oman.

Ten Thornton Academy students attended the competition: Erin Acheson ’16 (Arundel), Shannon Fralley ’16 (Saco), Ella Stillman ’18 (Saco), Ethan Nadeau ’18 (Saco), Vincent Falardeau ’18 (Saco), and Amber Coxen ’18 (Saco), Linh Khanh Do ’16 (Vietnam), Napat "Dew" Intarachumnum ’16 (Thailand), Tai Duc Nguyen ’16 (Vietnam), and Owen Hey ’18 (Saco).  Falardeau, Nadeau, Hey, and Coxen represented the school in the four-person competition. The other six students had previously participated in the state level competition, and helped their peers study for the national event. Another student, Ethan Richards ’18 (Saco), was part of the state-championship team but was unable to travel to Washington due to a conflict with other school activities.

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