Science Olympiad Team Competes at Manchester

The Academy’s recently created Science Olympiad team traveled to St. Anselm College in Manchester on April 6th to compete against some of the top teams at the state level. The team, composed of senior Ja-Way Wang, uppers Anika Ayyar and Violet Davis, lowers Brooke Stephanian and Stephanie Chen, and prep Audrey DeGuerrera, was coached by science intern Faith Tucker.Even without the same level of serious preparation as other schools, Exonians demonstrated their prowess in different fields of science. Every member of the six-person team received at least one bronze medal for their showing, placing 3rd in three events, 6th in two events, and 7th and 8th in more.The initiative to create the team was taken by lower Stephanie Chen, who was seeking creative outlets to express her passion in the sciences.“I knew before I came here that I wanted to start a team. It was a big part of the decision to decide whether or not to come here, but I decided to start a team and try to get Exeter on the route to winning state and going onto nationals,” Chen said.The first stages of starting this new project on campus were challenging because of the lack of opportunity to advertise at club night and get the word out, according to Chen. However, the preparation for the Olympiad began with weekly meetings in the Phelps Science Center to familiarize interested students with what the Science Olympiad is all about.“We started off meeting every Thursday night in the science center. We would go up to one of the rooms and sit around while I introduced what science Olympiad was, along with two or three people who had done it before,” Chen said.Science Olympiad, a nationwide competition, is an all-day contest that consists of over twenty different events which thoroughly cover different disciplines and aspects of science including geology, genetics, forensics, forestry, astronomy, and human anatomy.“I think the most unique part about Science Olympiad is that it covers such a wide range of scientific interests and competition approaches,” Ayyar said. “It does not just consist of taking a test or answering questions. There's a lot of hands on, practical work involved such as blood testing experiments or mineral identification. I think this is a huge plus for Exeter students specifically, as it really digs into our "real world" approach to things.”Although the club started with about forty students interested, various circumstances such as overlapping schedules resulted in only six students representing Exeter in the actual competition.“There were lots of great schools, many of whom had multiple teams like varsity and junior varsity too, all of whom had done this before and were much more experienced,” Tucker said. “The requirements for our club were simply enthusiasm, and that you must want to spend time doing science.”Ayyar agreed. “It was kind of a last minute thing. None of us realized how soon the state competition was coming up until around a week before,” she said. “We just wanted to get some experience, enjoy ourselves, and see what it was like to develop some gauge for how to approach it next year.”However, after a good start, the club is now momentarily hindered by the loss of their zealous faculty adviser Faith Tucker, who will be completing her post-graduate degree at Stanford next year, leaving the team without a coach.“For a new faculty adviser, the wonderful thing about this club is that the co-heads, particularly Stephanie, are incredibly organized. This is a very independent, self-sufficient club that needs an enthusiastic faculty adviser to give them the chance next year to bring home the gold,” Tucker said.