One Thing in Common (ft. Cayla Waddington & Aja Moore)
May I Be Heard? Episode 5, featuring Math Civics & Sciences Charter School duo Cayla Waddington & Aja Moore.
Senior and sophomore.
Attorney and expert witness.
Current captain and future captain.
For Aja Moore and Cayla Waddington, the differences don’t stop there. Still, they have one major thing in common: their love of mock trial, especially Empire.
Aja, a rising senior, and Cayla, a rising sophomore, are both members of the mock trial team at The Mathematics, Civics & Sciences Charter School of Philadelphia. While Aja has three Empire competitions under her belt, Cayla has one; and while Aja only has one year left with her high school team, Cayla is just getting started.
While Cayla wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when Empire went virtual, Aja felt the adjustment.
“At first I was really pessimistic about the switch from in-person to online, though I knew it was inevitable. Honestly, I was just really grateful to still be able to compete, because lots of my friends who competed in sports like basketball didn’t get a season or any tournaments at all.”
Pessimism turned to optimism turned to enthusiasm, as Aja realized once the online competition got underway that it wasn’t all that different from competing in-person.
“There was still that stiffness in the air and your scripts whirling around your head as the judge handles housekeeping matters,” Aja said. “Though I can’t wait to be back in person, being online was something different and honestly fun for me and my team.”
And, while she may not have admitted it then, there were parts of being online that Aja liked even better than being in-person. “My favorite part about it was being able to eat off camera during teammates performances and not having to wear heels all day anymore!” Aja said.
For Cayla, being on a mock trial team at all--even a virtual one--was a dream in the making.
“I had been trying to get on the mock trial team since I was in sixth grade,” Cayla said. “At school they put it on the club roster and I was all too eager to sign up--but when I tried they said it was only for high schoolers. I was crushed. I had to wait three more years!”
Then, when her ninth grade year finally rolled around, she wasn’t sure that mock trial would happen at all.
“Because we were doing virtual learning, I was worried that I still wouldn’t be able to do mock trial. I am so glad I was able to do it!”
Cayla only joined the team a month before her first Empire competition, so the stakes were immediately high. It was unlike any other competitions she had done before.
“I feel really spoiled that my first experience with case materials, time limits and props was with Empire. The Empire case has so much evidence and so many exhibits, so when I received my first case that wasn’t from Empire, I was left wondering where the rest of the file was,” she said. “Empire just feels so much more real.”
For other students new to Empire, Cayla has one piece of advice: “Mock trial is really just about having fun. During our first few scrimmages, I was so nervous that I’d mess up and our entire team would suffer for it,” Cayla said. “I was so worried that I’d totally blank on my script during our first round, and in a way I guess I did because when I started directing the guest witness, I just went with the flow instead of wracking my brain for what I thought I was supposed to say. And it went pretty well. After that, I felt excited instead of just nervous.”
Nearing the end of her Empire career, Aja has a different piece of advice: “The best advice I could give is telling a young mocker to SLOW DOWN,” Aja said. “Judges and juries like who tells the best story. If you’re running through your story they won’t know if it’s good or bad!”
As Aja prepares for her last year of high school mock trial, she knows it will be bittersweet. She will miss Empire, Cayla, and her fellow mockers.
As for Cayla, she can’t wait for three more years of Empire exhibits, affidavits and expert testimony.
To watch the interview playback, click here.
Ready for your own Empire Experience? Applications are OPEN for the 2021 Cyberspace Season this Fall. To learn more and how to apply, click here.