UIL Academics seeks new members
- Natalie Garcia
- Oct 30, 2025
- 2 min read
UIL Academics is starting, and they are seeking new members from every grade level to join its teams.
The UIL academic season typically starts in October and runs till May. UIL provides students with an opportunity to compete in academic competitions they are interested in. By participating, students can develop critical thinking and communication skills preparing them for future success.
“Students are welcome to join at any point,” UIL coordinator Andrew Gaytan said. “We have a lot of coaches on our campus that would love to have more people in their events.”
UIL coaches practice with students once a week to prepare them for competitions. Coach Jenifer Pascua said she enjoys coaching UIL because she did it in high school and wants to give back to students.
“I'm coaching UIL because I wanted to give students opportunities to do more of the academic things they might enjoy in class,” Pascua said. “But also competitively give them that chance to have that academic experience so hopefully they can see some successes.”
For students who are wanting to go to college, participating in UIL academics is excellent preparation, as it helps students develop college readiness skills, according to Gaytan.
“The challenge of the content is at a level you’re just not going to really see in your day to day high school classes,” Gaytan said. “So for some of the students who are maybe not prepared for college, I think getting that kind of exposure can be really beneficial because all of sudden you realize ‘Oh I actually am good at this, I’m a little better equipped for it.’”
All of the academic competitions are timed events, leading to students growing in time management skills.
“When you’re looking at some of the things we’re doing at school, like the SAT, all of those are timed tests which there's a lot of anxiety,” Gaytan said. “Now all of sudden you have to do this in 30 minutes so getting comfortable about those situations makes UIL one of the best things you can do for yourself academically.”
UIL is also beneficial for students wanting to go to college, because it provides opportunities to earn scholarships.
“You don't even have to place at state,” Pascua said. “So as long as you get to compete at state, you have an opportunity to get a scholarship.”
Students recently had the opportunity to attend the UIL Academics Students Activities Conference at UT Austin where they got to learn tips about their competitions and also got to see the campus.
“It was really fun,” UIL debate competitor and junior Mia Marchan said. “I had a good time, and I learned about a lot of stuff.”
Marchan recommends students to join UIL.
“It’s a good opportunity to have fun. You can create memories with a lot of people,” Marchan said. “It’s also good for you.”
If you are interested in joining UIL Academics, email Andrew Gaytan at andrew.gaytan@dvisd.net to get more information.
