Trojan Army & Student Activities
February has been an incredible month for student life at Uni, fueled by high energy and a deep sense of community. We kicked things off with our legendary Unilympics, where students engaged in friendly but fierce competition all week long. The festivities included a spirited round of Family Feud on Monday, Futsol on Tuesday, a high-stakes Smash Bros tournament on Wednesday, and basketball on Thursday, all culminating in an action-packed dodgeball finale on Friday.
The spirit of giving continued with Kindness Week, which encouraged Trojans to spread positivity through daily challenges. Students participated in random acts of kindness on Tuesday, enjoyed a heartfelt Lunchfest on Wednesday, and distributed candy to peers on Thursday. The week reached a thrilling conclusion on Friday with the highly anticipated Staff vs. Student Basketball Game - this year belonged to the students. The teachers are already training for their "come back" next year! Additionally, we had an amazing night of elegance and history as students headed to the Nixon Library for this year’s Winter Formal. Looking ahead to March, the momentum stays strong with our upcoming campus Blood Drive and the start of the Election Convention, where our next generation of student leaders will begin their journey.
Counselor Connections
During the month of February, the counseling team held our annual Junior Parent Information meeting. We covered topics such as graduation requirements, a-g requirements for CSU/UC schools, options after graduation, the college application process and standardized testing updates. We continued to hold Sophomore Meetings through the end of February. We will begin Junior Meetings on March 3rd and they will run through March 23rd. We are preparing to welcome our incoming 9th grade students with a variety of events including 8th Grade Family Night and our middle school transition to high school classroom presentations at our three main feeder middle schools.
College and Career
In February, the College & Career Center hosted two inspiring speakers as part of the UHS Speaker Series: a pediatric plastic surgeon and one of our very own teachers, a professional world-ranked surfer. Beyond sharing insights into their career paths, both speakers emphasized the importance of learning from failure and setting meaningful goals as keys to long-term success.
Additionally, we also completed counseling lessons with all 9th and 10th graders, introducing them to the many resources available in the College & Career Center. As part of these lessons, students participated in personality and career assessments to help identify potential future career paths.
Looking ahead to March, students interested in exploring careers hands-on should consider enrolling in an ROP class. Registration for fall 2026 classes begins Monday, with options ranging from automotive, dental, culinary arts, medical, and many more. Details on registration can be found HERE. Students can also explore a wide range of industries at our annual Career Fair on March 12 during lunch in the Crossroads. We hope to see many students take advantage of these opportunities to explore their interests and future pathways!
Trojan Athletics
Boys Soccer has played their way to a CIF Championship game! This is super exciting! To make it even better, the championship match will be played here, at our very own stadium, on Saturday, February 28th. Hopefully when you read this, we will be champions!!
Wrestling also found postseason success with 8 boys and 7 girls qualifying for CIF. Two wrestlers, Raiden Omid and Alyssa Marin Esparza, qualified for Masters. Alyssa, in her first year at University, advanced to the semifinals of Masters. Congratulations to the wrestling program and special congrats to Raiden and Marin.
Spring sports are in full swing! Baseball, Softball, Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse, Boys Swim, Girls Swim, Track and Field, Boys Volleyball...this is a busy time of year for Trojan athletes.
Come out and support our Spring programs.
Library Highlights: TEDx Innovation and Freshman Poetry Slams
Our library continues to be a hub for creativity and student voice, particularly with the highly anticipated TEDx University High School Youth event that took place at the Irvine Civic Center. The quality of submissions was exceptionally high. This year’s finalized lineup features an inspiring mix of eight student speakers, a UCI professor, and Irvine Councilmember Kathryn Treseder.
In addition to the TEDx excitement, the library has been buzzing with energy as we hosted our first Poetry Slam for the freshman class through their English 1 course. This program provides an important platform for our newest Trojans to share their original work, practice public speaking, and engage with the arts in a supportive, peer-led environment. Watching our freshmen take the stage with such confidence and heart has been a highlight of the semester, and we are proud of the library's role in fostering these essential communication skills.
UHS Speech and Debate makes the right arguments!
The weekend of February 1, University High School sent over 30 participants to the Orange County League Speech and Debate Tournament at Fullerton High School, marking our largest turnout to date. The event featured many students competing in a live setting for the first time, and the results were truly impressive across several categories. In Impromptu speaking, Justin Wu took 2nd place and Nick Mohandesi earned 5th place overall, while Elsha Lee secured 5th place in Informative Speaking. Our debaters also excelled, with Alan Yang and Vanmayi Syamala both going undefeated in Lincoln Douglas Debate, and the team of Bobby Ihler and Saanvi Katkuri finishing with a strong 2-1 record in Public Forum. In Student Congress, Carmel Tebyani placed 2nd and Brittany Chen placed 5th overall. While these individuals earned top honors, the entire team performed exceptionally well and represented our school with great spirit. Looking ahead, we have two major competitions on the horizon: a three-day invitational at UC Berkeley over President's Day weekend and the State Qualifying tournament at the end of the month.
Trojan Trot - another successful year!
Our annual Trojan Trot was a massive success this year, bringing the community together to gross over $14,000. These efforts resulted in proceeds of more than $3,500, which will directly benefit our PTSA, various University High departments, ASB clubs, and our dedicated athletic teams and boosters. The event saw participation from a wide range of fundraising teams, including Boys Lacrosse, Girls Soccer, Junior Classical League, Math Club, Swim and Dive, Baseball, Cross Country, Instrumental Music, and Water Polo. A special shout-out goes to the Softball team, which had the most runners of any group with 29 participants; they raised an impressive $965, with half of those funds going straight back to their program.
The morning was filled with energy as Cheska Corona delivered a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, supported by the presence of our Pep Squad and Band. With over 200 runners, 17 local sponsors, and more than 40 volunteers, the event truly showcased our Trojan spirit. We are also proud to recognize our top-performing Uni 5K runners. For the boys, the top five finishers were Giuseppe Paxia, George Abbott, Ameen Gish, Yaoyu Kevin Xu, and Brian Jing. For the girls, the top five honors went to Natalie Liu, Eva Steyvers, Marie Sato, Sophia Liu, and Anita Tsai. Congratulations to all our athletes and a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making this fundraiser a success.
Diplomacy in Action: UHS-MUN Shines in D.C.
Twelve of our top delegates recently returned from a rigorous six-day "East Coast Adventure" in Washington, D.C., where they participated in the North American Invitational Model United Nations Conference hosted by Georgetown University. Over the course of four intense days, our students dedicated nearly 22 hours to diplomacy and debate within their committees. We are incredibly proud to announce that Amanda Rahimi and Gidget Smith were both recognized at the closing ceremonies with Outstanding Awards, effectively naming them the second-best delegates in their respective committees.
UHS Science Olympiad Secures Silver at Regionals
As we enter the height of the STEM competition season, we are excited to share that University High School earned an impressive second-place finish overall at the Regional Science Olympiad competition held this past Saturday at UC Irvine. Science Olympiad is a team-based endeavor where students compete in pairs across a wide range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and earth science. Much like the current Winter Olympics in Italy—though with significantly less ice and fewer broken bones—our students have trained extensively all year to put their skills to the test. These challenges pushed our delegates through hands-on builds, complex laboratory investigations, and rigorous academic testing that rewards both deep content knowledge and collaborative problem-solving.
UHS was represented by two teams of 15 students each, whose dedication and preparation led to this outstanding achievement. Their success at Regionals follows a year of hard work and travel, including high-level invitationals in Temecula and at USC, as well as a virtual competition hosted in Wisconsin. We are incredibly proud of these students for their commitment, teamwork, and excellence in competition. Please join us in congratulating our competitors for representing UHS so well and wishing them the best of luck as they prepare for the state competition this April.
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