AAMU Among 24 HBCUs Selected for the Competition

AAMU junior Jamya Cathey competed with HBCU students from around the country in the 2024 Black College Quiz Bowl, which tests students on their knowledge of African American History for scholarships. AAMU was one of only 24 HBCUs selected for the head-to-head competition.

“This is my first time competing on this amazing show,” says Cathey. “The toughest part of the competition was studying all of the materials in such a short amount of time and retaining that information. The best part of this experience was meeting Nephew Tommy and seeing how a TV show is recorded.”

The weekly series, hosted by comedian, actor and producer Thomas “Nephew Tommy” Miles, is shot in Atlanta. Cathey and her coach, Assistant Director of the AAMU Honors Program, Carla Draper-Holloway, traveled to Georgia Broadcasting for the competition taping in January.

“I was on edge the whole time as the competition was stiff,” says Draper-Holloway. Jamya, as always, did an amazing job representing Alabama A&M.”

The Black College Quiz Bowl previously used a team format with four students. Draper-Holloway says Alabama A&M University actually won the competition years ago, and it was filmed in Chicago. She not only accompanied Cathey, she also competed.  

“There were four rounds: Multiple Choice; Rapid Fire; You Should Know Category and the Wager round,” says Draper-Holloway. “Each player’s coach competed in the You Should Know Category.”

Cathey, from Nashville, Tenn., is a member of the Alabama A&M Honors Program and the Honda Classic All-Star Challenge team. She plans to become a high school English teacher and get her master’s in education policy to become a policy analyst.

Draper-Holloway says they’ll find out if she advances to the next round when her episode airs on March 23.

“The Honors Program will have a watch party when it airs!”

Watch the episode here: https://www.blackcollegequiz.com/