Ms. Karandikar has been the sponsor of the Science Olympiad Club for the past 3 years, starting in 2019 not including the years of 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.
Ms. Karandikar has been a teacher at Hidden Valley High School for 11 years. She teaches Ecology and Anatomy this year and pursues this career because of her love for science and the idea of teaching the future of America. She took part in this club because she believes it is a good opportunity.
Science Olympiad was founded in 1984 to bring skill-based challenges to schools. Science Olympiad is a STEM competition. This competition is in all 50 states and has several competitions throughout the year.
Our school has 12 members that compete. They prepare on their own and together. Ms. Karandikar said, “It is fun to see them have the love for science like I do!” They meet every other Thursday afternoon. The team competes in two different tournaments, the Invitational and the Regional. The Invitational is at Virginia Tech and the Regional is at Fairfax High School.
“I like the diverse fields of competitions available within the club. The club involves competition in the fields of biology, chemistry, forensics, and many more which allows me to spend my time developing my skills in a field I enjoy and am likely to succeed in.” Second year member, Aayush Patel
Ava Hurley is a first-year member, and she loves the club. “I’ve liked getting to explore different fields of science,” she said.
