FISD’s CTE Center is hosting tryouts for their competitive Mock Trial team Wednesday.

“I am a huge fan of law,” sophomore Anaiya Chitre said. “I saw this as an opportunity to participate in something that could potentially be seen as my future.” 

The team hosted a mandatory information meeting Aug. 18 for any students who wanted to apply, and there was a turn out of over 150 parents and students. 

“The meeting on Wednesday was a lot more crowded than I anticipated, so it was a little overwhelming,” sophomore Rin Ryu said. “Overall, the information that was needed was given, so all was good.” 

All FISD campuses are eligible to create a mock trial team. In order to try out for the CTE team, students must attend a class at the CTE center. If a student’s home campus does not have a mock trial team, they may try out for the CTE team even if they do not have a CTE class.

“We are required to select one out of six of the witnesses in a criminal case that we would like to portray. We have to memorize 4-6 pages of information for our person,” Chitre said. “During the actual tryout, we will be interrogated by someone and would have to answer the questions as our character to the best of our abilities.”

This year, there are only 10 open spots on the team. Hundreds of students try out each year, which many feel makes the team significantly more competitive. 

“Even if I don’t get admitted into the team, I’ll take this experience on a high note because the process so far has been really enjoyable for me,” Chitre said. “Seeing how interested I am in this profession may sway me to help start a mock trial team for LHS.”