Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, Texas – South Texas College welcomed hundreds of middle school and high school students from across the state for the 20th Annual Regional Science Olympiad.
The Olympiad is a signature event for STC, celebrating two decades of academic competition in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Hosted by STC’s Math and Science divisions, the Olympiad brought teams from throughout the Rio Grande Valley as well as from San Antonio, Corpus Christi and for the first time in its history brought students from Houston, to compete in a wide range of STEM-focused challenges and compete for a chance to advance to state and national competitions.
“What’s new this year is we have more middle schools than ever participating, which is amazing,” said Ludivina Avila, Ph.D., chemistry faculty member at STC and event director for Olympiad, which was held at STC’s Pecan Campus. “We have the usual schools from San Antonio who are attending and now we even have teams from Houston joining us for the first time, which just shows you the reach we are having across the state.”
The Olympiad at STC was comprised of 18 events tailored for both middle and high school students.
Participants competed in events ranging from robotics and engineering challenges to biology-based competitions including genetics, entomology and disease detection. Returning favorites like the popular robot tour with new obstacles and the bungee drop also drew enthusiastic crowds.
Sarah Wagoner, Science Olympiad coach and physical education teacher at Seashore Middle Academy in Corpus Christi, said bringing her 14 students to the Valley for the first time proved to be a memorable experience.
“This just exceeds our regional competition back home,” Wagoner said. “These individualized events allow students to dive deeper into subjects they may not fully explore in the classroom. It prepares them for future competitions and gives them a chance to experience college campuses and imagine themselves here one day.”
The students echoed this excitement. Isabella Landeros, a competitor from Travis Middle School in McAllen said participating in the Olympiad is both challenging and rewarding.
“It’s a very fun learning experience because it teaches us a lot about engineering, which is something that I am very interested in,” Landeros said. “Sometimes you can feel nervous competing sometimes, but it’s also very exciting.”
At the high school level, Anthony Ha, a senior at Lamar Academy in McAllen and Olympiad team captain, said the competition helps students discover potential career paths within science.
“Competing is the best way to learn more about the sciences and dive into niche topics that help us become passionate about what we want to do in the future,” Ha said. “There are events for every field, from engineering to physiology, so it’s a great way to explore what you want to pursue.”
In the high school division, Lamar Academy claimed first place overall, followed by San Antonio-based Alamo Heights in second place and Harmony School of Discovery from Houston in third.
In the middle school division, Alamo Heights earned first place with McAllen’s Fossum Middle School taking second and Travis Middle School placing third.
As teams earned their medals, Avila encouraged students to embrace both the challenge and the opportunity the annual Olympiad provides.
“Give it your all,” Avila said. “Do it for your school, aim for that state championship and remember that experiences like this can shape your future and inspire what comes next.”
Information source: STC
