Crosston, Kyndt to Lead Nebraska Academic Decathlon
Crosston, Kyndt to Lead Nebraska Academic Decathlon
By Dan Silvia, Communications Manager
Drs. Matt Crosston and John Kyndt have been named the co-Executive Directors of the Nebraska Academic Decathlon. Crosston and Kyndt will succeed Dr. John Anstey, a retired professor from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
“We’re excited because we think it has a lot of opportunity for growth as an event. We see it as potentially the scholastic endeavor for Nebraska high schools,” Crosston said. “It is a little bit daunting trying to figure all this stuff out. We are, thankfully, still having the help of the outgoing executive director.”
The Nebraska Academic Decathlon is an educational growth program for high school students. The program requires participating students to develop an understanding of a specific curriculum and take tests in the areas of Art, Economics, Language & Literature, Math, Music, Science, and Social Science. In addition, they must write an essay, present both a planned and impromptu speech and complete an interview.
Bellevue University’s involvement with the event sprung largely from academic events sponsored by Dr. Rod Hewlett as part of his responsibilities as Grewcock Chair. Examples include recent programs on India and BRICS (an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The events, which served as prep for the Decathlon, brought high school students to the Bellevue University campus and had the students interacting with faculty members such as Crosston and Kyndt.
Crosston said he and Kyndt are excited about the opportunity and intend to be great caretakers for the event. By doing so, they can help high school students look at Bellevue University in a different light.
“If we can be great stewards of that process, people will just naturally see us in a way they didn’t see us before,” he said. “I don’t see how that just can’t end up being a great benefit for us. I see it as the greatest high school outreach we’ve ever done. It certainly should have at least something of a positive impact on the Drive to 2000. These are the people who are the key for the future of the Drive to 2000 campaign. It’s getting students of the traditional high school age to see Bellevue University as a legitimate potential destination.”
The Regional competition for the Decathlon is held on the third Saturday in January. The Regionals are based on the enrollment level of the schools. The State Final is held on the third full weekend in February at Creighton University.