For the first time ever, the UIL accounting team is made up only of girls. 

Previous teams have traditionally consisted of one to two males, but these four girls from Candace Nassar’s accounting class have made Vandegrift history. Seniors Miranda Saenz, Brooke Moore and Kaylen Taylor and senior captain Sydney Paul advanced to the UIL State competition May 6-7. They have been practicing previous to the start of UIL and will represent Vandegrift with their best foot forward. 

“I chose to join the team because I thought it seemed like an interesting way to apply what we’re learning in class in a different format,” Taylor said. “Sydney, the captain, was on the team last year as well and she told me how much fun it was which convinced me to join.”

A typical competition starts with a team meeting an hour prior for test prep and review. After that, the test begins, running about an hour long. The test consists of different puzzles related to accounting that the girls must solve.

“What’s cool about the dynamic of our team is that it’s all girls who compete,” Taylor said. “We’re all seniors and plan to do something with accounting in college, so it’s super easy to talk to and relate with each other.”

During the test, the girls must remember all the content and topics they’ve learned in their class. For example, they are given financial documents with missing information, and they must work backwards to figure out the missing numbers. The test usually contains true or false questions and multiple choice sections.

“I’ve had a really great time being on the team this year,” Paul said. “Last year when I competed on the team I was the only junior, so getting to have weekly in-person meetings [this year] has been so much more fun. We are all seniors so having similar goals has brought us together.”

Each girl competes individually but each are scored holistically on both an individual and team level. Moore placed second at regionals and Paul third, but the whole team qualified as a wildcard since they finished second as a team.

“My favorite part of competing is taking the actual test,” Taylor said. “I love accounting and puzzles, and these tests are a fun way of combining the two. It’s also so cool to see people from other schools who are also interested in accounting and come from different backgrounds as us.”

To prepare for the district competition the girls met every Thursday during PIT to practice. Moving into the regional competition, they have been meeting every Tuesday after school in addition to the Thursday PIT practices. Now, they have a chance at placing at state.

“My favorite memory has been spending time with my teammates and Mrs. Nassar,” Paul said. “We always have a good time in practice. I’ve especially enjoyed getting to know Mrs. Nassar better. She’s the reason that I love accounting and her teaching has inspired us all to pursue this career.”

As they make school history by being the first all-female accounting team to compete, the girls say they will try their very best.

“Being on the UIL team is what proved to me that accounting was what I wanted to pursue in the future,” Paul said. “I was able to explore my interest in accounting in a fun way while competing alongside my friends. I loved being a part of this team and I’m excited to continue studying accounting in college next year because of this experience.”