Your passport to global affairs

Academic WorldQuest 

Academic WorldQuest is a fun, fast-paced team game testing students’ knowledge of international affairs. In the game, four-person teams compete by answering questions divided into ten theme categories. The program tests players’ knowledge of subjects such as current international politics, geography, global economics, history, forms of government, capitals of the world, citizenship and the U.S. Constitution, ancient civilizations, U.S. history, the U.S. in world affairs, world leaders, world cultures, and more.

Some 50 World Affairs Councils, including the Naples Council on World Affairs (NCWA), hold AWQ competitions for students in their communities. The winner is the team with the most correct answers. One winning high school team is invited to represent their high school, city, and local World Affairs Council at the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition in Washington DC, held each spring. 

For more than a decade, NCWA has sponsored AWQ competitions in two programs in Collier County -- one for public and independent high schools and the second for middle schools. The Middle School AWQ was on March 1, and the High School AWQ will be March 29, this year, both at the Community School of Naples. 

Try your hand at answering the study questions, and see how you score! Click here for the 2025 study guide.

NCWA's Middle School Academic WorldQuest Gets Students Involved

               Community School of Naples won the Middle School Academic WorldQuest competition sponsored by NCWA. At
               left is Mark Walchak, NCWA's school programs chair, second from right is Mark Schwab, NCWA president, and at
               far right is Scott Miles, team coach. Team members are John Fontana, Justin Cantor, Kayden Robinson and Steven
               Fontana.

For the second year in a row, Community School of Naples’ top Academic WorldQuest team won NCWA's AWQ Middle School competition.

The event was held at the Community School’s gymnasium, drawing 97  competitors from 25 teams and four Naples middle schools. More than 100 parents, supporters and volunteers took part in the event.

The winning team included eighth graders John Fontana, captain; and Justin Cantor, Kayden Robinson and Steven Fontana. The Fontana brothers are twins. To achieve the championship, the students met after school to review general national and international affairs topics provided by NCWA.

“The students are the reason they are successful,” said coach Scott Miles. “We don’t coach. We get them involved. The Community School curriculum –geography, history, government – gives them the background.”

AWQ has been an important complement to the social studies curriculums in SW Florida schools.

“It’s a learning experience they can’t get any other place,” said Mikie Stroh, Collier County Schools social studies coordinator. “It’s an amazing experience for students to show their knowledge they are learning at school about the world.”

Second and third places went to Pine Ridge Middle School; and Oakridge Middle School, respectively. Pine Ridge’s team was Sidharth Kamath, Rylan Wise, Aditya Yadav and Julian Connor Bartruff and coach Darah Perini. Third Place went to Oakridge Middle School, with Arnav Dabas, Zeke Newbery, Tulip Sai Bheemanapalli and CJ Sauer, and coaches Andrea Polanco and Taylor Wilson. Collier County middle schools participating were Community School of Naples, Oakridge Middle School, North Naples Middle School and Pine Ridge Middle School.

For more than a decade, NCWA has hosted Academic WorldQuest competitions for middle schools and high schools in Southwest Florida. AWQ inspires high school students and teachers across the United States to embrace a culture of global engagement. Nationwide, more than 40 local World Affairs Councils host community Academic WorldQuest competitions throughout the year, engaging more than 3,000 students in schools across diverse geographic and economic lines.

Students competing in the 2025 Middle School Academic WorldQuest competition line up for a group photo.

2024 High School AWQ Results

Naples' newest school, Aubrey Rogers High School, won the NCWA High School Academic WorldQuest competition March 24, 2024, and traveled to Washington DC for the national competition in April. For the first time a group of four freshmen earned the champion's title. The local competition is sponsored by the Naples Council on World Affairs, and the national competition by the World Affairs Councils of America.

NCWA’s middle school AWQ took place at the Community School on March 2. The results were: Community School of Naples, first place; Pine Ridge Middle School, second place; Community School of Naples, third place.

For a copy of the press release announcing the winning teams, click here.

High School Academic WorldQuest Winners for 2024

First place in the High School Academic WorldQuest was won by a freshman team from Aubrey Rogers High School. From left are Mimi Gregory, NCWA Vice President for Programs; Meghan Joyce, team coach, also named NCWA Educator of the Year; students Aaron Bowman, Bennett Bowman, Luke Brown and Alex Ewy; and Jim Seymour, NCWA's manager of the competition. The Bozmans and Brown were on the team that won the AWQ Middle School championship in 2023. 

Second place winning team was from Gulf Coast High School. With Mimi Gregory, Vice President for Programs, left, is Emiliana Aguilera, Isabella Lala, Selma Parvenu, Everett Tedrow and Jim Seymour, manager of the competition. Not pictured is Sue Soulard, high school coach.

Taking third place in the High School AWQ competition was another team from Gulf Coast High School. From left is Mimi Gregory, NCWA Vice President for Programs, Quinn Fairbrother, Khang Lee, Katie Saadeh, Aiden Stein, and Jim Seymour, NCWA manager of the high school competition. Not shown is Sue Soulard, high school coach.

Middle school students prepare for the competition at the Community School of Naples.