While most students feel satisfied with the amount of work they get regularly, some go just a little bit further.
In March around 25 students signed up to take the Chemistry Olympiad local exam, administered by science teacher Kathy Nakamatsu. She started giving it at the school last year, although it had been around for a while.
The Chemistry Olympiad, sponsored by the American Chemical Society, is open to all high school students. It is composed of local, national and international stages.
According to Nakamatsu, only the top two scorers on the local exam can be sent to the regional competition.
“The top two scorers have to do a lab exam in the regional exam which is rigorous and challenging,” Nakamatsu said. “When I was helping the two students prepare last year, they both found the experience to be rewarding.”
Last year, these two students were Daryl Chang and David Zeng. This year, they are juniors Myron Zhang and Elaine Chou.
According to Nakamatsu, last year’s students scored High Honors on the regional exam, but did not qualify for the national exam.
Zhang said he was happy to be moving on to the next level.
“Advancing to the next level means I get to bang my head against another chem test sometime in mid-April, and I believe this one has a lab component in it as well,” Zhang said. “I look forward to the challenge.”
He also expressed his thoughts on the exam.
“There are a lot of smart kids who know a lot about chemistry. Kind of makes me feel rather small,” Zhang said. “As for the exam, shall we just say that chemistry can get pretty esoteric when it wants to be.”
Zhang took the exam last year, too, but lost the tie breaker for second place.
“I wasn’t about to let it slip through again this year,” Zhang said.
Students interested in other fields were also able to demonstrate their academic talents. This year, 17 students qualified to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) on March 17 and are now waiting for the results to come out.
The preliminary exam of the Physics Olympiad took place in January, and three students qualified for the semifinal round. Seniors Amol Aggrawal and David Zeng and junior Brian Wei took the semifinal exam in February and are waiting for results.