By Ava Klein
Executive Life Editor
Some students’ passions cannot simply be restricted to the classroom. Two years ago, senior Douglas Meyer created a Science Olympiad team comprised of members who all shared a passion for scientific knowledge and innovation.
Science Olympiad has been one of the nation’s largest high school science competitions for the past 29 years, with 23 events pertaining to various scientific disciplines, some of which include genetics, epidemiology, forensics and robotics. According to Meyer, the Olympiad co-president, competitions aim to display students’ prowess with challenging scientific material.
“Science Olympiad has taught me the importance of working as a cohesive team and also looking for creative ways to solve problems,” Meyer said. “One of my favorite things about participating in tournaments is that despite the fact that we’re competing with each other, we all have a blast doing it.”
Each Science Olympiad competition is comprised of about 20 events which are based on scientific problem solving. At some tournaments, students are required to construct a thermodynamic box that insulates an unknown temperature and volume of water. Others contain different challenges. At the tournaments, judges are assigned for each of the individual events, and they carefully evaluate each entry in the contest.
“My experiences in the forensics competitions have sparked my curiosity by encouraging me to understand our world better,” senior and Olympiad Co-President Bryan said. “ I love finding the fictitious murder from crime scene samples like hair and DNA extractions.”
When Meyer was a sophomore, he was deeply disappointed that Mira Costa did not have a Science Olympiad team. Due to the absence of this club, Meyer decided to bring this extracurricular activity to Costa. According to Meyer, it was incredibly rewarding and exciting to unify students who all shared a love for science.
“It has been an amazing journey watching the small club of 10 grow over the course of two years into the 80-person club it is today,” Meyer said.
Although this is only Advanced Placement Biology teacher Jessica Bledsoe’s second year as the advisor for Science Olympiad, she has loved spending time with students who are equally as passionate about science as she is. Bledsoe’s most cherished moment of the year was when Costa qualified for the State Championships after the team medaled in six events in the Regional Competition on Feb. 23. The team then competed for the first time in the Southern Olympiad State Championships at Canyon High School on April 6, where the team placed 20 out of 27 competitors.
“My goal is to take away stress from the students by scheduling the tournaments,” Bledsoe said. “I love being around kids who have a an unpolluted passion.”
Over the course of two years, Meyer has medaled in over nine events and has competed in multiple events.
“In one of my events, ‘Protein Modeling,’ I built a physical model of a protein and learned every detail of its functionality,” Meyer said. “It was fascinating because it combined my love of biology and chemistry.”
Bryan’s adoration for science will extend far beyond high school. Bryan will attend Bowdoin College in Maine this fall, where she plans to further explore her love for scientific research.
“I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in medicine, so it was interesting to learn about other aspects of medicine through Science Olympiad,” Bryan said. “I hope to study epidemiology.”
Similar to Bryan, Meyer’s deep passion for the sciences will extend past the doors of Costa.
“I want to major in biochemistry and work in medical research, and that is largely due to my experience with Science Olympiad,” Meyer said.
Despite the academic year coming to a quick end, senior team member Lauren Hagedorn is excited for what lies ahead for the Science Olympiad underclassmen. According to Hagedorn, her participation on the team has enriched her life.
“The most rewarding part of my experience has been spending time with people who are passionate about science,” Hagedorn said. “I loved learning from everyone on the team.”
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