After a successful, but fully virtual year of competition, the Science Olympiad team is optimistic about their prospective season.

“I am very enthusiastic about the team getting to participate in, travel to, and bond at invitationals, as well as advance in our state-wide rank,” Hania Timek ’23 said. “I think the team will do very well this year, but the bar is higher than it ever has been, as last year our performance in competitions was the best in the team’s history.”

Co-Captains Alex Bruce ‘22 and Tejas Iyer ‘22 said that this year’s combination of new members and experienced upperclassmen leaders has formed a promising team.

“I feel great about our chances this year,” Bruce said. “I think we have a very good shot to make it to the state competition, and a significant chance to make it to the national competition.”

The team will attend invitationals, starting in the winter, and are scheduled for their first tournament on Jan. 15 in Cleveland, Ohio. To prepare, the team will have individual studies, compete in other competitions, and hold student-led meetings for specific events.

In addition to preparing for and competing in events, the Science Olympiad team has partnered with the Refugee Education Center to create “STEM Kits.”

“In the past two years, we have donated over 200 mini science labs for the students at the organization,” Bruce said. “All students on the team and in the school are invited to join us in this effort.”

For Timek, a new season means new people, competitions, and currents of information to feed her mind.

“My favorite part of SciOly is definitely the people I meet and the amount I learn,” she said. “I am very interested in the events I do, and so the whole experience of studying and often cramming information into my head is a lot of fun.”

This story is from the Oct. 2021 issue of The East Vision.