Interview with Peter Baker

You may have never thought that Ohio was anything more than a monotonous expanse of cornfields, or just another boring, political, battle ground state with 20 electoral college votes. However, contrary to the stereotype of its home state, the quiz team from Highland (southwestern Ohio) is the antithesis of ordinary, capturing the attention and interest of countless inquiring youths denomination wide. Over the past five years, Highland has emerged as a very competitive quiz team, winning the Great Lakes Conference Regional in 2005 and going undefeated for the first day of competition in the subsequent Denominational Final. Nevertheless, it is the team's character, sportsmanship, and personality in and apart from quizzing that have won Highland great respect and admiration. Having been a long time quizzing rival of Highland while simultaneously enjoying their friendship, I am honored to provide you with a glimpse into the captivating nature of the real, cherished Highland quiz team.

Below is the account of my Q and A with friend and Highland veteran, Peter "Petey" Baker. Special thanks to Martin Flowers and the others who assisted in compiling this question list.

(Nate) Q: In one sentence, how would you describe your team?
(Petey) A: A close knit group of friends who love the Lord.

Q: How much quizzing experience do you and your teammates have?
A: Any where from 1 or 2 years to 5 or 6.

Q: In what ways do you study, and how long do you usually study in a week or a day?
A: I usually do not study with a time limit but rather, I have a quota for each day.

Q: What do you see in store for the future of your quiz program?
A: I think that God is using and going to use individual quizzers in ways of spreading his good news that you or I could never imagine.

Q: Any historical influences from your program or bits of history from past Highland teams that you remember or that spur you on?
A: All I know is that pretty much everyone that attends our church at the present time was once a quizzer themselves.

Q: Is there any specific team that you especially respect?
A: I would probably say that Carlisle is a team that glorifies God with what they do. I have known them to generally always be happy, no matter what the circumstance. They are just one of the teams that I know personally and I would also say something similar about all the teams in our denomination.

Q: What are your goals for the season, personal and team goals?
A: That no matter what happens about whoever receives rewards, the people who receive them would give God the glory and thank Him for putting His word on our hearts. That's what it's really all about.

Q: What was the worst answer given by anyone on your team in a practice or a meet?
A: I could name multiple occasions but probably the worst ever would be when someone misquoted John 3:16.

Q: Do you have any rookie quizzers?
A: We have a couple, one of whom is my younger sister, Natasha Baker. The other is a first year quizzer from our church. (As a side note, veteran Samantha Weaver from Oak Hill BIC is also quizzing with Highland since her church does not have a team).

Q: Any secrets to success or strategies?
A: I would have to say study hard, attend all practices and do not do it alone. That is, ask for Gods help.

Q: What is your favorite quizzing memory in or outside of quiz meet competition?
A: Any time when both teams quizzing each other are longtime friends and just have a great time together. Also, for everyone who was in CA, that was awesome fellowshipping and getting to know everyone.

Q: What does your team do while traveling to meets?
A: We usually all ride in the same vehicle and do crazy stuff like Chinese fire drills at stops and acting goofy.

Q: Do you have any nicknames for the people on your team?
A: We've never really assigned nicknames to anybody except for mine, which is Petey. But that is not limited just to our quiz team, everyone calls me by it.

Q: What are your pre-quiz rituals?
A: No rituals, just prayer.

Q: What is your general quiz practice routine?
A: We meet on Wednesdays and quiz over three or four sets of practice questions.

Q: What is your least favorite state to travel though?
A: I don't have a least favorite state yet. I like them all, especially Pennsylvania.

Q: Favorite snacks?
A: "I love skittles and combos." Ha. Just kidding. I enjoy donuts and Little Debbie products.

Q: If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?
A: Bill Gates, so that I could spend his money. On the poor, of course.

Q: What is your current thought?
A: That Nathan Rosentrater is a fiend.

To Petey (and all Highland Quizzers): I'm so thankful and encouraged to see the authenticity of your Christian faith exemplified in your goals, vision and relationships with your teammates and other quizzers throughout the denomination. You are a joy and inspiration to us all. Once again, thank you so much for helping everyone get better acquainted with your team!

- Nathan Rosentrater (The Fiend)

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