The game was tied and it all came down to the last question.

"Who was the owner of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company at the time of the Ludlow Massacre?" the host asked.

Carlos from Washington, D.C., had buzzed in first and awaited approval for his response.

"Incorrect," said the host.

Now it was Cassandra's turn. She looked at the host and answered, "John D. Rockefeller."

And just like that, Cassandra Sanchez, an AWC Biochemistry student from El Centro, Cal., was the Hispanic College Quiz Show champion. Sanchez defeated two other contestants on her way to winning a $3,000 scholarship and did her home school proud in the process.

A sleepless night

Sanchez had traveled to Chicago for the Aug. 24 filming, along with AWC Professor, Martha Martinez, to compete along with 11 other contestants in an event hosted by Center City Productions and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. Only students from a HACU member institution are eligible to compete.

"I didn't sleep the night before," laughed Sanchez.

The local barista near the hotel asked her if she wanted an extra shot in her macchiato.

She agreed, knowing she wanted to stay up and study. "I only noticed after I finished it, that it actually had three shots," she said.

Not feeling well after her caffeine overload and sleepless night, Sanchez was not in top form when her turn to compete finally rolled around at 5:00 p.m.

"I told Martha, ëI don't want to do this,' and she said, ëNo, you're going to do it!'" Sanchez recalls. "But the moment they said, 'Okay, it's your turn,' I said, ëOkay, it's time to focus."

Back to reality

The 12 contestants were divided into groups of 3 for the filming of four separate quiz shows. The winner of each show received the scholarship award. The show aired locally on KSWT in September and will air again in October.

Sanchez said she enjoyed the experience, even though it was a stressful weekend.

"I had a physics test right when I got back," she said. "First week of class and he did not give us a break.

"It was like, thanks for welcoming us back!" she added with a smile.

Photo by Martha Martinez