The whiteboard on the left side of Mr. Marsh’s room is split in two. On the left, scribbles and blurbs from the previous rounds of competition. On the right side, is a hand-drawn picture of India. However, this isn’t just your average picture, it’s split up into factions, both geographically and fiscally, and it can go even deeper than that.

Senior Alex Gilsbach, one of four Captains on the UIL Social Studies team, has been a part of the UIL social studies and current events teams since his sophomore year. The map of India is just one of many ways his team has been able to find sustained success in the last two years.

“We can split up each of these factions even deeper and explore the cultural differences between each one,” Gilsbach said. “It all depends on what UIL is looking for.”

And what UIL “looks” for is a challenge within itself. Throughout his time on the team, Gilsbach has dealt with multiple topics, each completely different from the other. Last year, the topic was South Asian history, and in 2021, American history in the 1920s. 

“This was the first year that we dug this deep into a topic,” Gilsbach said. “I mean, we kind of did that last year, but we only realized how much work was required once we came up just short.”

Gilsbach views UIL as a game; something that he wished he knew sooner. It didn’t matter how much prior knowledge of the topic you had, UIL was always going to add something new at the last minute.

“All of us [on the team] are hungry for more, and we don’t want to feel the way we did last year,” Gilsbach said.

However, the social studies team’s season ended prematurely at region. On the other hand, the current events team advanced onto the state round, meaning that Gilsbach’s hopes of a state title are still alive.

“I think that it would be an incredible way to end my senior year, and leave a legacy for future members to want to fulfill,” Gilsbach said. 

The social studies team’s in-depth study of India has turned into an obsessive fascination with the region of South Asia, with members going as far as already planning a trip there sometime in the future.

“While we mostly put in the work for the sake of winning, we also found ourselves falling in love,” Gilsbach said. “India, South Asia as a whole, is such a beautifully diverse place, and we want to experience it ourselves after reading and watching so much about it.”

In the meantime, Gilsbach is more focused on what lies immediately ahead. Next year, he will be headed to Missouri University of Science and Technology to major in Aero-Space Engineering. While quite the endeavor, Gilsbach says he is ready.

“I’ve already learned so much; might as well apply it to something new,” Gilsbach said. “I didn’t know much about India before this year, and now look what’s happened.”