In preparation for the highly anticipated competition season, Amador’s Science Olympiad team put in extra effort to undertake a series of challenges and successes in the next few months.
“All the captains who’re responsible for the different genres of events, like the Chemistry Captain and Environmental Science Captain, have divided responsibilities. We’ve all been having different meetings to really teach content that students need to knowto prepare for the competitions. What I’ve been doing in my meetings is holding review sessions and sending the members my notes. In general, it’s helping them gather all the materials they’re going to need to perform well at competitions,” said co-president Brandon Huynh (‘24).
The competitions look different depending on which event the members participate in. From structured tests to hands-on builds, everyone on the team competes in the area they are most confident in.
“Most of the competitions are test-based. For the build or the engineering-type events, there are demonstrations at the builds to see how successful they are. Sometimes there’re stations that you need to rotate around and complete certain tasks to perform well,” said Huynh. “After everyone takes their tests, we meet back at our home room and wait for results to come out. We have some ups and downs, and celebrate some victories, but it’s really great to just see everyone form a community and be proud of the achievements they’ve made.”
For SciOly members, competing is an exciting experience where they learn plenty and also bond with each other. Strong friendships are made as the team travel to the different university campuses for their competitions.
“I really like competing because it feels nice to win, obviously, but the learning experience from working with everyone is really worth it. When you’re actually at the different campuses, you get to see people from other schools. The competitions are a chance to make friends with them, too,” said club member and captain Kathryn Go (‘24).
For longtime members and upperclassmen, the competition season is a unique and special time. They want to leave behind the knowledge they’ve gained in their experience. Raghav Sreekumar (‘25) reveals the core of Science Olympiad as he reflects on his journey.
“I’ve learned that science is really diverse. There’re lots of cool fields that are worth exploring, so it’s open to a lot of people,” said Sreekumar.
As the AV SciOly team approaches their earliest competition on January 27th at UC Davis, Huynh reflects on his role as a leader and his pride in the team.
“I’m really proud when they do well even if it’s not like a medal per se. I’m still really proud of their placement, their achievements and how much growth they’re showing overall,” said Huynh.
