During the celebration, Corpus Christi Councilmember Ben Molina congratulated Wilson by saying his performance at the national competition was not only indicative of the quality education IWA students receive, but also served as a proud representation of the City of Corpus Christi.
The celebration not only commended Wilson for his wonderful accomplishment, but also recognized IWA eighth-grader Vanessa Flores who received 46th place out of the 132 fifth through eighth grade students who competed. She also received a distinctive Honorable Mention for her performance at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the first time IWA has ever had any of their students participate in the national competition.
Wilson and Vanessa began competition at the national contest with several practice rounds focused on professional etiquette, business acumen, and human interaction on Friday, February 9, 2018
After placing second in two of the practice rounds, Wilson continued the competition on Saturday where he was faced with a gauntlet of challenges which included being the star of a commercial, conducting an interview with a President Barack Obama lookalike, engaging with a multi-millionaire on a golf course, and much more.
After completing two more rounds, Wilson was then interviewed by HLN correspondent Melissa Knowles in front of a live crowd with judges sitting in the front row. Wilson would be selected as one of six finalists following his interview.
The final round of the competition took place on Sunday beginning with a breakfast where three executive judges sat alongside finalists and judged them on their conversational skills. Following this portion of the competition, Wilson was selected as one of the final three students who would then be interviewed by actor, writer and two-time Emmy award winner Ryan Cameron. Wilson did an amazing job answering a series of questions and after three days of competition, ultimately placed third in the competition overall.
IWA is extremely proud of Wilson for exuberating such knowledge, intellect, courage and energy throughout this intense competition.
Wilson will be available for interviews beginning Monday, February 12, 2018.
To view Wilson’s interview conducted during the final round of the National Amazing Shake Competition, click here (skip to 30:30 of video).
To view Wilson’s interview conducted during the fifth round of the National Amazing Shake Competition, click here (skip to 28:40 of video).