A team of six Huntington High School science research program participants vied in this year’s USA Biology Olympiad.
Huntington team members Valerie Rogel, Natalie McCann, Hannah Avidor, Mya Davis, Matthew Gennarelli and Emma Grassi simply “love biology,” teacher Lori Kenny said.
Billed as the premier biology competition for high school students in the country, the USA Biology Olympiad “enriches the life science education of nearly 10,000 talented students annually,” according to the initiative’s website. “It provides the motivation, curricular resources and skills training to take them beyond their classroom experience to the level of international competitiveness.”
The Olympiad consists of a very challenging set of questions. “The exam is quite intensive and includes everything from multiple choice questions across all the fields of biology from genetics to ecology to cellular biology and intense details of various processes,” Mrs. Kenny said.
Sophomore Hannah Avidor led Huntington's USA Biology Olympiad team.
Although the exam was tough, the Huntington teammates enjoyed the challenge. “It was a great experience to further my knowledge in biology,” Ms. Rogel said. “I look forward to competing on a higher level in the future.”
Participants are required to take the privately administered exam alone. The Huntington team members all volunteered for this year’s Olympiad.
Ms. Avidor notched the highest score of anyone on Huntington’s team. “I am very proud of her, for not only entering the research program as a sophomore, but also her intense desire to be involved in more extracurricular activities in the science field,” Mrs. Kenny said. “I believe that not only Hannah, but the entire group has so much to give to the field of science. We will see them accomplish great things in their future.”