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Recently, the Science Olympiad team ranked 13th out of the 54 possible ranks at the New York State competition.

The Science Olympiad team also competed in the NYC regionals competition this past February, securing a first place victory for the second year in a row with a 66 point lead. All three THHS Science Olympiad teams placed in the top ten, winning a total of 39 medals. THHS won first place in all the build competitions and placed in many other events such as Write It Do It, Experimental Design, Robot Arm, Anatomy and Physiology, Chem Lab and Fossils.

At the State competition,  held on March 12, seniors Celina Tran and Cindy Lin placed first in Green Generation, an environmental science event.

“My partner took an environmental science class at Queens College, while I studied for the [AP Environmental Science] exam on my own last year. I’m happy that we won but I feel that the team did amazing as a whole,” senior Celina Tran commented.

The team was able to place within the top five of Anatomy and Physiology, Cell Biology, Electric Vehicle, Experimental Design, Forensics, and Wright Stuff at the state’s competition. Overall, the team walked away with seven medals. With a spot at 13th place, the THHS Science Olympiad team placed better than all other competing NYC schools.

Sophomore Derrick Mu reflected, “The build events were much more competitive at states.” With students competing from all over the state, the THHS Science Olympiad team had gone up against opponents from Long Island and Albany; the difference in prep time made a difference.”

Many of the students in Science Olympiad have not only been preparing since the beginning of the school year, but since their summer vacations. Junior Mitchell Mu explained, “On my side, my brother Derrick and I have been working on our build events, Robot Arm, Wright Stuff, Electric Vehicle and Bridge Building, since summer started”

At the states competition, many of the members were happy to see the familiar faces of THHS and Science Olympiad alumni, Shirley Lin and Alessandra Taboada. The alumni visited the team to offer advice and share their own experiences.

“Honestly on the day of the competition, whether it be regionals or states, besides answering a couple of last minute questions, my job as an alumna is to cheer them on and support them so that they go into their events feeling their best,” Alessandra Taboada said.

Alumna Shirley Lin expressed similar feelings. She stated, “Because I’ve competed at several competitions throughout my high school years, I know how stressful it can be, so I think I mainly functioned as moral support for team members.”

Team supervisor Thomas Sangiorgi commented, “The competition at the state tournament was fierce so the teammates truly dedicated themselves towards their goal.”