TRAILBLAZING SCIENTIFIC ADVENTURE BY J. RENEE CUNNINGHAM COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING SPECIALIST
T
he newly established Allen High School Science Club took its first trailblazing adventure to the Texas A&M University Regional Science Bowl. This fast-paced quiz format competition is based on knowledge of science facts. The event is a significant competition for many senior level science teams from schools across the state. Most participating schools engage in robust year-long prep programs leading up to this event. Allen’s fledgling team of students, with just one week of formal preparation, impressively landed in the top five of over 30 Dallas schools, and top ten in the state at this year’s competition. “I was blown away at some of the things that these kids knew,” said second year Allen High School Teacher Rachel Chisholm. Chisholm is the Forensic Science team lead and sponsor for the Science Club and Science Fair. The club’s adventure began with fliers that were posted in the science classrooms. “I simply asked if anyone was interested in being an officer and helping to develop it to show up to the first meeting,“ said Chisholm. Those strategically placed flyers attracted seniors Howard Ding and Victor Nguyen. This new club opened an opportunity for them to share their passion and curiosity for science in a fun and casual social environment. “The students came in and we picked positions. They wrote the bylaws and created this club,”
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said Chisholm. That meeting installed Ding and Nguyen as the club’s first co-presidents. The other club officers include senior Joshua McPherson, junior Sanjana Kishore, sophomore Advik Ravichandran and sophomore Rafay Azeem. Since establishing the club the students have done exactly what they envisioned. Every other Monday they do something fun for the campus. “They have done things like egg drops or pulling DNA out of strawberries,” said Chisholm. The co-presidents soon discovered that members of the club wanted further academic challenges as many already took part in rigorous UIL academic competitions and AP level courses. They took the initiative to utilize interest surveys to focus on
