University of South Carolina Beaufort psychology students took first place at the annual Quiz Bowl competition at the South Carolina Psychological Association’s 2011 Academic Day, held at the College of Charleston.
USCB bested eight other teams during the two-hour, seven round competition: Coker College, USC, Clemson University, College of Charleston, Newberry College, The Citadel, Furman University and Lander University.
Second place went to Furman, and third place was awarded to College of Charleston.
The USCB team was coached by Assistant Professor, Brandon Cosley, Ph.D  with assistance from faculty member Linda Wilson, Ph.D.
USCB’s Department of Social Science Chair, Charles Spirrison, Ph.D is thrilled about the victory.  “These students are among our best and brightest.  I am very excited for them.  They have represented themselves, their classmates and professors, and USCB remarkably well.  It is a true pleasure to be associated with them and their educations.”
USCB Quiz Bowl team members included: Justin Barber, Brittany Cheek, Jenny Dolin, Ian Evans, and Joely Tweel.   All of these students are also members of the USCB Psychology Club. Kate Torborg, Director of Student Life, was thrilled to hear of the student organization’s success. “I am unbelievably proud of this special group of students.”
According to Psychology Club Treasurer Tweel, “We were like one mind to the power of five. I don’t think that we could have won if we had been missing any one of our members. We knew each other well enough to have a sense of when to defer to each other.  It was a glorious example of social psych at its best.  And we had incredible coaches. We definitely could not have done so well without their tireless efforts.  Our success proves that we have as good of professors at USCB as you would find at any college anywhere.”
Dolin, Vice-President, concurred.  “All of us on the team kept talking about the differences between our school, USCB, and the other larger universities. We decided that we had an edge over the other schools, like Clemson and USC, because we all knew each other and were comfortable.  We know our professors and they know us. It’s  a different dynamic that you cannot find at a bigger university, a  place where you might just be a number. At USCB, it’s the complete  opposite. Professors know you and are interested in your life and  invest in your future. It’s wonderful. And that’s the reason why we did  so well yesterday. Our preparation was impeccable and it was entirely  a team effort, one that I’m proud to have been a part of.”