On March 29th, 17 members attended the States Science Olympiad competition at the University of Virginia. Spanning from 8am to 7pm, members left on Friday night, slept in a hotel, and arrived the next morning to University of Virginia on Saturday.
Science Olympiad is an after school club in which members explore STEM; this includes subjects such as science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering (additionally, members create structures and models for specific events).
“I was so anxious waking up that morning… I spent all night trying to fall asleep. I didn’t know that I would make it into states, so I really had to lock in and try really hard to try to medal,” said Ashley N., an aspiring leader.
Club leaders and Woodson mentors selected a few individuals who medaled in regionals or did exceptionally well in communication, work ethic, and other strong communicator and collaborator skills to be placed in the states team. It is not easy, as out of many members, only a few will end up going to states.
One of the leaders, Caroline T., states, “You have to place high enough at regionals to compete at states and it’s a big honor for our school to make it each year. Kids try really hard [and] it’s a big motivator [for Science Olympiad members]. It’s a big competition, and most kids don’t get to experience that.”
However, that’s not the end of the road– members still have to research long and hard about their topic whenever there is a study or build event.
Every event in Science Olympiad needs a member for every event; partners work together and collaborate, testing each other with practice tests and experimenting with launchers.
“I enjoy how the community is really friendly and supportive. We all support each other’s wins and even if you don’t medal, we still support each other and it’s really nice to see your hard work pay off,” said Naomi N., a state competitor. In Science Olympiad competitions, the top six placers in their respective events receive medals.
(Three members who also medaled are not featured)
During the competition, Frost did very well, with half of the members medaling in events– a few even medaled in every event.
“I feel so accomplished now– I got three medals! I feel like all my hard work paid off, and even though we didn’t make it to nationals, I am still super glad I got this opportunity!” said Science Olympiad member Clark S.
Frost ended up getting eighth place in total. The ranking is sort of like golf, with the lowest score winning. Each member receives a score, and that is tallied with everyone in Frost.
Science Olympiad members did really well, and even though they didn’t get into the nationals, they still did amazing as a team, working together to preserve.
