Westside High School’s Science Olympiad group competed at the regional level this past weekend. Four students will advance to the state competition on Saturday, April 23 at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 

Sophomore Hafsa Mohammed is one of the students moving on to the state level in April with Science Olympiad. Mohammed said that the program gaining new members has helped her build her skills in the science field.

“Compared to the previous years I’ve competed, this year felt like I’ve put in a lot more effort and hard work with new people because I’ve been competing with the same group of people for the last few years,” Mohammed said. “So coming to the regionals and competing at the high school level really brought me to a point where I just have to trust my instincts and I have to trust my teammates.”

The regional competition proved to be a very gratifying experience for the WHS team. Mohammed said that members enjoyed meeting teams and students from other schools who had similar interests.

“The other thing that’s really fun about Science Olympiad is that you get to meet new people from other places and you have fun simultaneously while you’re working,” Mohammed said. “It’s a very rewarding experience.” 

Freshman Elizabeth Frolova has been on Science Olympiad for two years. This was her first year competing since last year’s competition was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frolova will also be going to the state level with the team.

“[Winning] felt great honestly,” Frolova said. “The best part [about competing] was probably that I got to talk with everyone; we helped each other out, we exchanged notes. We had a great time together and it was just really great to get along with the team.”

The Science Olympiad team’s accomplishments at the regional level will take them to the state competition in Lincoln this April.