Northwood’s Science Olympiad team placed second overall at the Southern California State Tournament for the third time in school history on April 12.

Students competed in multiple events spanning various science disciplines and completed a variety of tasks, from practical builds to labs to tests. Several first place wins culminated in earning the second place trophy, but students have collaborated as a team for months to be ready, requiring students to learn time management and communication to ensure the team is prepared to compete in events.

“A lot of the members are juggling rigorous schedules, applications, sports and other clubs all at the same time,” senior Shrey Shah said. “but we feel like this definitely helps us learn better life skills.”

Each student begins their self-paced planning when official rules are released in September. While adviser Daryl Bowman provides support and coaching as needed, students conduct their own research, construct and test devices and practice labs for lab events in their free time.

“Because we are the competitors, we are the ones who have to hold ourselves accountable to knowing all the topics or creating and testing our devices,” senior Gabby Lan said.

Holding long sessions, researching down internet rabbit holes, taking practice tests and staying up late to test builds make for great bonding experiences and lasting friendships according to Lan, even across schools.

“I love the people,” Lan said. “Not only does everyone get to nerd out about whatever niche they found themselves in, but you can create friendships instantly while bonding over how hard the test was or suffering from difficult builds. Even when former teammates or friends are attending different schools, you can still keep in touch online, even across the country.”

Applications for next year’s team will be posted on @nhsscioly on Instagram