Photo: Dr. Paul Taylor, right, stands with Wallace State Community College students Alivia Sims, left, Heather Owen, Victoria Baldwin and Oscar Goodwin who are the champions of the Alabama Society for Respiratory Care Sputum Bowl. Their win makes them eligible to compete in the national competition in San Antonio.
HANCEVILLE – A group of four Wallace State Community College students rose to the top of the heap in a competition pitting them against other teams from universities and colleges to win the Alabama Society for Respiratory Care Sputum Bowl, earning them the opportunity to compete in the national competition in San Antonio.
The Sputum Bowl is a scholar’s bowl-style competition, with two teams squaring off to answer questions about respiratory care. The team that buzzes in first has 10 seconds to answer the question. The team with the most correct answers at the end of the 10-minute round advances in the double-elimination competition. The competition utilizes moderators, judges and timekeepers who are all known experts in the field of respiratory care.
Wallace State’s winning team was made up of sophomores Oscar Goodwin of Garden City, Heather Owen of Huntsville, Victoria Baldwin of Birmingham and Alivia Sims of Cullman.
“We were ahead most of the time,” Goodwin said. The team’s only loss was during the final rounds, which sent them into a “sudden death” match with Shelton State. The win there gave them the championship, earning the team a trophy and each member individual medals.
“These students have demonstrated exemplary leadership through diligence, intelligence and dedication in the field of Respiratory Therapy,” said Dr. Paul Taylor, program director. “I was proud of them for just stepping up to the plate to compete at the state level. To have them win first place is a remarkable accomplishment.”
To prepare, the students were quizzed during class, along with two other Wallace State teams who competed at the state competition. The team members said they didn’t do as well in those practice rounds, so they were surprised at the win.
“It is not easy to be a student and sit in front of a firing squad of known leaders in your profession,” Taylor said about the competition. “Who am I kidding? It would not be easy for veterans of the field of respiratory therapy either.”
Dr. Taylor said he was proud of all of his students who participated in the Sputum Bowl. “All of our teams did very well competing against other teams representing respiratory care education programs from all across Alabama,” he said. “They thoroughly shined as academic and professional representatives of the Wallace State program.”
The Wallace State Respiratory Therapy program is a five-semester program offering an Associate in Applied Science. Employment of respiratory therapists is expected in grow by 12 percent through 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS reports the annual mean wage for respiratory therapists in Alabama in May 2015 was $46,930.
For more information about the program, contact Taylor at 256-352-8310 or paul.taylor@wallacestate.edu or visit www.wallacestate.edu.
