By Melissa Olivares, Staff Writer
Since Sept. 26, Science Olympiad members, such as senior Ethan Lien, dedicate an average of five to six hours per week preparing for their competitions. SciOly is a student-run organization and is led by their co-team captains, Tuan Nguyen and Sulekha Kishore.
The pre-competition jitters of the TCHS Science Olympiad team seemed to melt away, dominated by the adrenaline and excitement of competing in such a large scale event. With quick and confident thinking, they plowed through their various activities, some collaborating to complete advanced assessments on their computers while others built elaborate contraptions. Even with safety guidelines keeping them apart and competing from home, the team managed to place high while sharing a unique and unforgettable experience.
“I was pleasantly surprised by our placings as we were competing against nationally-ranked high schools from across the U.S.,” co-captain senior Sulekha Kishore said. “Being a part of a community of students that support each other as we work hard to learn more is a really amazing experience that is unique to our team.” SciOly is a nationwide competition testing participants’ mastery and problem solving skills in various STEM fields through events such as Disease Detectives and Gravity Vehicle, which delve into topics such as epidemiology and gravity. Each team consists of 15 members, as well as two alternate members, who compete in groups of two or three through different events. Previously, the club would travel together to designated tournament locations to compete in person. However, with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the SciOly organization prepared new guidelines and formats in which the events would be held, including a newly introduced model called Mini SO, providing schools in distance learning the ability to compete virtually.
“Despite being stuck at home, the competitions are more than I expected it to be, and it feels great to be able to compete in spite of the circumstances,” freshman Ellen Tang said. “It’s definitely a little disappointing; I’d love to be able to compete in person; but if this is the best we can do, then I’ll definitely take it.” They compete in numerous invitational, regional and state tournaments; their most recent virtual competitions being the BEARSO, where they placed 16th out of 203 teams and as the 12th best school overall. They also placed 16th out of 117 teams at the University of Texas Austin invitationals and as the 12th best school overall. “Our members are just as talented as our competitors, no matter how prestigious or smart they are. It is TC’s heart and passion that sets us apart from the crowd,” junior Kylie Bell said. “Talent combined with passion continues to strengthen our team; and as we continue to improve each year, we hope to prove to the rest of the SciOly community that the key to success comes from the competitors themselves.”
With the season having just begun, the team continues to practice and prepare for their next tournament in January 2021 at the MIT Invitational, hoping to improve placements in coming competitions. “I have continued to support this program for 23 years because the students inspire me, and because they are fun to be around,” head adviser Kevin Slattery said. “They are incredible STEM students, but more importantly they are really curious, high quality people with tremendous potential to make a huge difference in the world.”