Junior excels in Social Studies, advances to State UIL

After the Academic UIL 6A region competition at Baylor University on April 26th, junior Haider Murtaza walked out of the social studies competition with a silver medal, indicating his advancement to Academic UIL State.
“It might be lonely going to state by myself,” Murtaza said. “But with the way region inflated my ego, I’m pretty excited as well.”
At Cy Springs, the Academic UIL program offers 21 categories in which Murtaza competes in Social Studies, a competition with 20 multiple choice questions of general knowledge, 15 questions based on a chosen novel, 10 questions based on the yearly reading list, and an essay.
“I love history, but the social studies competition is much more than that,” Murtaza said. “You have to memorize so many people, terms, and events and make sure everything is in a sequenced timeline.”
Despite 2025 being his first year competing for social studies, Murtaza won second place at districts and second place at region. With the top three winners in each category advancing to state, Murtaza will be representing Cy Springs at the University of Austin in May.
“I can’t wait to explore the university and compete,” Murtaza said. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll get second place again.”
After Murtaza comes back from his state competition, he’ll be eligible for an Academic UIL letterman, making him the second person at Cy Springs to be lettered in that area.