Glen A. Wilson’s Science Olympiad starts the season off strong by placing second place overall at the Boyceville Invitational on Dec. 4.
Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition where students compete against each other in twenty-three events. These events could cover different fields of science, such as biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Schools all over the country gather together at small-scale competitions called invitationals, where schools are ranked by how well their students do in each event. However, due to the pandemic, competitions are now held online.
Science Olympiad coach, Jungsoo Han shares the many repercussions of the transition from in-person to online competitions.
“Normally, Science Olympiad competitions are held in-person, but then this year it is satellite, which means they have to compete online at school,” Han says. “It was a little less convenient because compared to competitions completely virtual, we have to schedule hours for the gym and for the school on Saturdays.”
On the contrary, cabinet member Jennifer Yang (11) favors the current satellite format over last year’s fully virtual competitions.
“Compared to last year, I prefer this year’s format because last year, we had to take tests at home by ourselves. This year, we can actually go to school and take tests together as a team,” she mentions.
Moreover, Coach Han shares his thoughts on the outcome of the Boyceville invitational.
“We did better than expected,” Coach Han says. “We placed second overall, I would say everyone did really well and worked really hard for it, so we are on track to reach our goal for this year.”
In addition, as a cabinet member, Jennifer Yang believes that there are always opportunities to do better.
“I think that we should always have more room to improve. Honestly, I am glad that we placed second, but I believe we can always do better the next time,” Yang says.
Furthermore, as a new member, Ella Mak (9), talks about her experience being on the team for the first time.
“It is definitely a lot harder than middle school. I have to put in a lot more hours of studying,” she says. “The team is really welcoming and amazing, and they have made my first year in [this program] more exciting.”
The Science Olympiad team is currently preparing for their next invitational which will be on Feb. 12.
