Marshall University’s College of Science will host the 2023 West Virginia Science Olympiad state championship March 4, bringing approximately 120 high school students to the Huntington campus to test their scientific knowledge. Local schools, including Cabell Midland High School and Saint Joseph’s Central Catholic School, are participating this year, along with schools from across the state.
“I can’t wait to see all the high school students on event day,” said Dr. Sachiko McBride, assistant professor in a joint faculty position between the College of Education and Professional Development and the College of Science at Marshall, and state director of the West Virginia Science Olympiad. McBride went on to say, “I am very thankful to all event supervisors and high school teams who are working hard to prepare for their events. I hope all the teams participating will have fun at the WV tournament. I am sure we will have a great competition.”
Marshall University undergraduate students will virtually assist in coaching the winning high school team at the state level to help them prepare for the National tournament, which will take place May 19-20 at Wichita State University in Kansas. Some of the student coaches from Marshall are from previous winning Science Olympiad teams from West Virginia who have competed themselves at the national level. They’ll help high-schoolers prepare for 23 events ranging from cell biology to the physics of projectile motion.
Sachiko McBride is also the faculty advisor to the Science Olympiad student organization and will serve as a mentor, along with Dr. Sean P. McBride, who is an assistant professor in the physics program and serves as the faculty advisor to Marshall’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students and co-state director for the West Virginia Science Olympiad. They both will work with the student coaches to help schedule time slots when the undergraduate coaches and high school students can meet virtually and assist coaches in effectively coaching the winning team virtually.
“I am continually impressed seeing how our student organizations are eager to come together to help support the winning West Virginia Science Olympiad team and help them succeed at the national level. Such efforts will hopefully result in enhanced performance in national ranking for the state of West Virginia,” said Sean McBride.
This opportunity for Science Olympiad coaching was made possible by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Grant # #80NSSC20M0055. Please e-mail ScienceOlympiad@marshall.edu for more information about participating in the science olympiad in future years. Registration typically opens in October of the previous year.