Black College Quiz Show a learning experience

 
The Black College Quiz Show taught more than just black history knowledge for host GregAlan Williams, Southern University participant Mario Johnson and coach William Moore.
Williams, Johnson and Moore benefited from a professional and competitive relationship between coaches and students.
“The most memorable moments for me were the relationships between the students and the faculty mentors who prepared for the quiz show. The mentors travel and support their students up until the very moment they start answering questions,” Williams said.
Mario Johnson, a senior physics major from Kansas City, Kan., described the relationship between him and coach Moore that trained him up to win fourth place in the 2012 Ford Black College Quiz competition.
“We’ve built up a decent relationship. He knows my learning style and when to challenge me. I’ve known him since joining the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge quiz team. He recommended me for the quiz competition,” Johnson said.
William Moore, a Southern University chemistry professor has served as a coach for the Honors College since 2001.
“The most gratifying part of the experience is to show the students the importance of being broadly educated. I hope I am helping prepare them for a world that expects a person to be knowledgeable and not one-dimensional,” Moore said.
Johnson recalled his experience in the quiz bowl and how he felt representing Southern University at the competition at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
“It was exhilarating. I was grateful for the opportunity. The best thing was learning more about black history and culture,” Johnson said.
Moore described the relationship formed between him and Johnson through the coaching process for quiz bowls.
“I have coached Mario Johnson for the past three years. This is the fourth year. We have established a good working relationship and a relationship built on mutual respect. Because of our competitive nature I believe we got along well,” Moore said.
Moore called Johnson’s performance commendable out of the 12 schools invited Johnson placed fourth and was awarded a $750 scholarship.
“When we reviewed we wanted the students to learn about the conditions. Learning beyond a single answer. We discussed answers; I didn’t just accept an answer. That can establish a sense of chronology; what events happened and in what time frame,” Moore said.
​Williams discussed the format of the show, categories and preparations.
“It is an interesting and exciting jeopardy style format show. All the questions are comprised of black history, pop culture, music and entertainment. The questions are made up by Ph.Ds. and students spend quite a bit of time studying,” Williams said.
With Williams’ background in mentoring from 1997 to 2011 he identifies mentoring as “essential” to developing socially and professionally.
Williams, an author, speaker, presenter, performer and actor, has hosted the Black College Quiz Show for the past six years.
This is the sixth Ford Black College Quiz competition but, the first year of individual competition. The show is produced by Central City Productions in Chicago.
Other colleges that participated in the quiz bowl included Alcorn State, Benedict, Cheyney (Pa.), Fisk, Florida Memorial, Fort Valley State, Howard, Kentucky State, Tuskegee, Virginia State and Wilberforce.​