On January 1, the JP Stevens Science Olympiad team went to Union County College to participate in the New Jersey Regional Tournament. This was JP’s first time going to the regional competition in over three years as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Regionals from being held in person. The competition environment allowed the team to gain an authentic and engaging experience while competing in various fields of science. Members of the Science Olympiad work in groups of two or three to take exams, build structures, or conduct experiments to demonstrate their knowledge in their specific field of science. 

The Science Olympiad has been a club at JP Stevens since 2009, and many students are drawn to it because of its competitive nature and the vast opportunities it presents for aspiring scientists. Around 200 students applied to the club, but only around 30 were selected after rounds of application and testing. This process fosters healthy competition within the chapter of the Science Olympiad at JP and encourages members to avidly research and internalize the branches of science they wish to compete in. There was a huge range of events that participants competed in including Anatomy and Physiology, Environmental Chemistry, Rocks and Minerals, and Disease Detectives. Some students were part of the Build Team, in which they worked together to apply their engineering and physics knowledge to develop structures. 

The opportunity to participate at an in-person Regionals was especially important to the JP Stevens Science Olympiad team because this was their first non-virtual competition since 2019. During the pandemic, the team still participated in invitationals and the NJ State Tournament (in which they placed 7th), but it did not give the competitors the same experience as they would have gotten in person. Being able to physically be at the competitions is a huge part of the culture of the Science Olympiad as it fosters a sense of community amongst the participants and allows the team to create even stronger bonds over their shared passion for science. 

“Being in-person has definitely made me appreciate Science Olympiad a lot more,” said senior Krish Nambiar. “It is much better than having to communicate with my partners via Zoom.” 

At Regionals, the Science Olympiad team was able to take exams, test their structures, and perform wet labs with their teammates. For example, groups participating in the bridge competition tested the structure they built over the months leading up to Regionals by adding sand to an attached bucket until the bridge collapsed. In the scrambler competition, another build event, teams tried to transport an egg on a vehicle they constructed without it hitting a certain barrier. Other team members competed in the lab portion of the tournament. In the Chemistry lab, teams of two were responsible for efficiently and accurately conducting a titration, an advanced chemical analysis. 

Apart from having an engaging and genuine experience at the Regional competition, the JP Science Olympiad team placed 5th out of the 24 teams that competed, coming very closely behind West Windsor Plainsboro South, East Brunswick High School, West Windsor Plainsboro North, and Princeton High School. The team did exceptionally well on an individual basis as well with some notable rankings including 1st in Chemistry Lab and 3rd in Anatomy and Physiology.

 “Being able to engage with several other schools at regionals and compete in a lively atmosphere was very exciting,” said Science Olympiad Captain junior Mia Zhong. “We are very proud of all our members and our success at regionals demonstrates the hard work we all put in over the past few months!” 

The advisors, Ms. Christie Gesualdo and Ms. Kristen Gumina, have been closely mentoring the team and are also looking forward to seeing how the team competes at States this March.