By Emma Pearlman '21
On February 8th, 2020, the NEST+m Science Olympiad Club woke up bright and early to compete in their first regional competition. They were tired, but the excitement was palpable. At the competition, club members interacted with hundreds of excited students from schools across New York City, all ready to compete and have fun.
That was last year's Science Olympiad regional competition, one of the last in-person events before COVID-19 took over the city and the world. This year's regional competition took place on Saturday, March 20th, 2021, and was virtual.
Both meeting and competing online meant that the Science Olympiad Club had to adapt their preparation. "Preparing for the competition felt very underwhelming. If we weren't online, I'd have felt a lot more stressed. But it being online made me feel very little stress, maybe too little," said Aadi Jain '22.
The competition was initially scheduled for February, but due to technical complications, the competition organizers delayed the competition date. Because of this uncertainty, member Yoshiaki Kanematsu '23 felt that preparing was "a little confusing." However, the delay did provide extra time to prepare. "I felt very prepared because of the time I spent studying, and the competition date moved back, which gave me time to prepare for the exam," said Sayma Wali '24.
When it came time to compete, there were mixed emotions. Part of the frustration came from the technology utilized to take the test, which involved downloading a PDF and then uploading it to a unique Dropbox link. Wali noted, "We faced difficulties in getting into Dropbox and inputting the password to receive our test and answer sheet and start the exam." However, her outlook from that day was overall positive. "I loved the rush of the exam and how tight the timing is," said Wali. "The way our team members were interacting to answer each question felt like a live competition in person." Mashiyat Ahmed '23 echoed that sentiment, saying, "I thought the experience was exhilarating… It was fun competing, even if it was virtual this year."
However, for those who attended last year's in-person event, the online experience does not seem to compare. Jack Cao '22 explained, "Last year, it actually felt like a competition. There were tons of people, and the atmosphere was more exciting. This year it didn't feel like a competition."
After the competition, many reflected on the experience. Kanematsu felt "relieved for some reason." Ahmed took away the importance of having a growth mindset and not stressing too much. "Something I learned is the importance of community, organization, and communication," said Club President Esther Bistricer '22. "Science Olympiad meetings have been a highlight of my week, and they made this year feel a lot more normal, which I'm very grateful for." Bistricer hopes that the Science Olympiad Club can continue to learn science together next school year! The club hopes to return to a normal routine and plans to use this year as a learning experience for future competitions.
Comments