Kaileigh Courts takes top spot in 31st annual Citizen Bee Winners in the 31st Annual Southeast Texas Regional Citizen Bee are, from left, Kaileigh Courts of Vidor High School, Nate Gibson of Acorns to Oaks Academy, Cristina Marquez Pereda of West Brook High School, and Mia Pierce of Vidor High School. Citizen Bee 2021 Coordinated by Lamar State College Port Arthur with Local Sponsorship by TOTAL Kaileigh Courts, a student at Vidor High School, will advance to state-level competition after winning the Southeast Texas Regional Citizen Bee, recently hosted by Lamar State College Port Arthur. The competition is in its 31st year of existence. For finishing first among 21 students representing seven schools, Courts now advances to the state competition scheduled to take place in Austin this month. Courts won a $500 cash award for taking first place in the LSCPA regional event. Her coach is Carol Kibodeaux. Nate Gibson of Acorns to Oaks Academy won second place and a $250 cash award, West Brook High School’s Cristina Marquez Pereda won third place and $125, and Mia Pierce of Vidor High School placed fourth and won $75. The event at LSCPA was sponsored in large part by Total Port Arthur Refinery. Students compete individually in the Citizen Bee, a test of their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and other important documents, people, issues, civic values, and current events. The event consists of a one-hour individual written examination, followed by oral questions in a virtual forum conducted on the LSCPA campus. All of the questions and answers for the written and oral exams were available in the on-line study guide provided by the Law Focused Education, Inc., State Bar of Texas. Other participants in the LSCPA-hosted competition were: Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School: Jonathan Roy and Brennan Roy; Coach Michelle Courmier. Orangefield High School: Colton Boudreaux and Sidney Holderman; Coach Melissa Hyatt. Sabine Pass High School: Brandon Morales, Daniela Contreras, Layton Richards, and Lashly DeLuna; Coach Zachary Defrancis. Vidor High School: Brenna Wingate, Kalea Clayton, Kaden Whitman, Amberly Haynes, and Tye Anderson. West Brook-High School: Sam Marchand and Gyan Malani; Coach Britton Peveto. Wilson Early College High School: Antony Nguyen and Steven Linares; Coach Rebecca Harrison.
