On the top floor of a Baylor University building, students lounge in a conference room. Light pours in from the windows that span from the ceiling to the floor. Some students, in matching shirts embroidered with their high school’s name and “Academic UIL,” sit at large circular tables. Because all of the other tables are full, The Woodlands team sits on the floor in a corner.
“Confirmation for Accounting is out,” a woman yells over the sound of students typing, shuffling cards, and talking.
Senior Meena Shanmugam walks to a table spread with corrected tests. Another paper lists the top ten winners. Her name is at the top.
After she looks over her test, she joins the rest of the team in the corner.
“I need to look over the one question I missed,” she tells her mother.
Meena won first place for the Accounting competition at the UIL Academic Regionals at Baylor University, and she missed only one question.
“I felt relieved because I wasn’t expecting it,” Meena said about her win. “I knew there would be a lot of competition and I was a little apprehensive about how I would perform compared to everyone else.”
UIL Academics include various subjects, from Literary Criticism to Accounting. It is a comprehensive competition based on detailed knowledge of advanced concepts.
Meena didn’t compete alone. Before regionals, she competed in invitationals and the district competition alongside her Accounting teammates Akshara Tiwari, Alan Besungil, and Ashlyn Ajesh. They won first place at districts as a team, and advanced to regionals. There, they placed third.
Although only the top two teams advance to state, Meena herself will still advance, due to her exceptional individual score.
Behind Meena’s success are hours of practice to refine every possible skill.
“In my free time, I would work through practice exams both timed and untimed, and I would go over every question that I missed so I don’t repeat my mistakes,” Meena said. “To learn new concepts, I used the slideshows that Mrs. Filer provided for our team and asked my mom if I was especially stuck.”
Mrs. Filer, coach and mentor for UIL accounting students as well as retired teacher, was deeply proud of the effort Meena put into her practice.
“I’m amazed at her study skills and her memory,” Filer said. “She does as many problems as she possibly can on her own.”
But behind every success there are great sacrifices. And for Meena, that meant not going to prom.
“She studied for long hours on weekends and holidays and consistently remained focused,” Meena’s mother, Reva, said. “She had been prepared to attend prom, but at the last minute, she decided to skip it so she could prioritize her preparation, always keeping her goal of reaching UIL state in mind.”
Meena said her passion for accounting came from her mother.
“My mom, who majored in accounting in college, encouraged me to take the accounting class and that’s what started this whole journey,” Meena said.
Meena’s mom expressed her happiness towards her daughter’s success and greatly appreciated her mentor, Mrs. Filer.
“I feel extremely proud and happy seeing my daughter win the regional UIL accounting competition. It’s very fulfilling to see her hard work pay off, and I’m glad I could support her in planning and guiding her preparation. I also truly appreciate Ms. Filer for taking the time to return and helping her with her exams and answering her accounting questions.”
Mrs. Filer gives tips for students who want to be successful like Meena.
“Students who want to achieve what Meena has achieved need to put in the work,” Filer said. “It really does help to do practice problems. The students I have who went to State focused on the practice problems and learning what they got wrong on those problems.”
