Waynesburg University’s Ryan Zappa recently placed first at the student Quiz Bowl competition, held during the Pennsylvania Athletic Training Society’s (PATS) annual symposium. The competition and symposium were held virtually Friday, June 11.
All 25 accredited athletic training programs from Pennsylvania were eligible to register a team consisting of one student. Zappa was selected by his peers to participate.
Everything that I saw from the questions, I had learned in my classes at Waynesburg and all of the preparation that my class and I went through for our Board of Certification Exam."
The competition, conducted on the virtual game-based platform, Kahoot!, was modeled after the game show, Jeopardy!, and consisted of 36 multiple choice questions. Participants used their cell phones as a remote control device to record their answer within a predetermined amount of time.
Zappa won first place with a score of 27,162, answering 27 out of the 36 questions correctly. Zappa and Waynesburg University will be listed on the PATS Quiz Bowl Trophy as the 2021 champion.
"I cannot express how proud I am of Ryan as well as the entire 2021 athletic training student cohort," shared Dr. Andrew Palko, program director for Athletic Training and Exercise Science. "They all adapted to the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to this past academic year."
Reflecting on his win, Zappa highlighted the importance of his Waynesburg University education.
"Everything that I saw from the questions, I had learned in my classes at Waynesburg and all of the preparation that my class and I went through for our Board of Certification Exam," said Zappa. "The countless hours of studying, taking practice exams and review sessions is what gave me the ability to answer the questions."
Dr. Palko believes that Zappa's win is the first time that Waynesburg has placed first in the competition. He also noted the strength of this entire student cohort.
"Their efforts [have] paid off, with the cohort achieving a 100% first-time pass rate on the national exam this past May," added Dr. Palko. "This speaks to the caliber of students in our program and the faculty that teach within it."
Zappa feels exactly the same way, reciprocating the praise.
"I haven't viewed this as me winning, [but] more so I have viewed this as my teachers winning since they are the reason that I won," Zappa concluded.
