Valpo’s Science Olympiad Joins Campus and Community
Last month, Valparaiso University’s annual Science Olympiad event brought 25 teams from 16 schools across Indiana and Michigan to campus in the name of friendly competition. Each team – including 13 middle school and 12 high school teams – competed in several science-themed contests, from detailed lab experiments to spontaneous build events. For Science Olympiad president and Christ College Scholar Sarah Iselin ’25, her connection to this highly anticipated, student-run event is grounded in a lifelong history of learning and curiosity.
“I was in Science Olympiad when I was in middle school. It was a fun extracurricular activity that wasn’t as on the spot as sports or math club. There’s a wide range of topics and I could really explore what I was interested in,” Sarah reflects. “I remember a lot of people on the team who maybe wouldn’t have been seen as straight-A kids. They were students who just wanted to learn more about astronomy or building. It’s just a cool way to learn about the world and it’s open to everybody.”
When Sarah was a junior, she scrolled across the Valpo Science Olympiad Instagram page. She felt a calling to send the committee a message and she was invited to fill the shoes of the committee’s event supervisor coordinator that year. Now, with one semester left before pursuing an already budding career in mechanical engineering, Sarah has successfully led a Science Olympiad of her own. Sarah worked closely with vice president Maggie Schepmann ’27, treasurer Cheyann Odle ’26, and other members of the Valpo Science Olympiad committee since August to reserve spaces on campus, select a date, find proctors, design events, gather lab materials, and more – a semester-long effort. The result was a collaborative experience that brought Northwest Indiana students together with current students, professors, and even alumni.
While Valpo’s Science Olympiad is uniquely organized by students, community members from all across campus play an integral role in making this experience unforgettable for attendees. Many of our professors write the exams, chemistry students may run a lab portion of an event, and alumni frequently come back to design experiments or proctor events. Two mentors who have been particularly helpful to Sarah and our Science Olympiad committee are Associate Professor of Chemistry Robert Clark, Ph.D., and Director of Enterprise Processes and Projects Melanie Steider. “It’s been really great working with [Professor Clark] and Melanie. [Professor Clark] has a ton of insight into what it takes to host a Science Olympiad event, and Melanie is just super organized. She knows what makes the event so special,” Sarah says.
Melanie, whose two children annually attend Science Olympiad invitationals for their own school, sees the event as a positive, formative experience for young minds. “When the Valpo Science Olympiad was looking for student volunteers, I reached out to see if I could help as a staff member. I was initially seeking the opportunity to give back to a program that was so beneficial for my family, but it’s been so much more,” she shares. “In my day-to-day role, I have limited student contact, so getting to work with this committed, talented, and oh-so-smart group of students is an absolute pleasure. They help keep me focused on why we do the things we do!”
To Sarah, it’s this supportive community that sets Valpo’s invitational apart from all other Science Olympiad events. “Valpo’s strong ties make all the difference. We get professors, actual students, and even alumni to come out and help us bring it to life. It really enhances the experience,” she says. Sarah encourages middle schoolers to attend to make friends and try something new; for high schoolers, her advice is to join Science Olympiad to enhance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses and discover what it is that they truly like to do. For everyone involved, the skills gained are transferable to any career path. “Even for me as a college student, helping with Science Olympiad has benefited me professionally in a major way. One thing I always say on tours when people ask why I chose Valpo is that there’s interdisciplinary education. Yes, Science Olympiad is a STEM activity, but a lot of those skills are transferable to any workplace: presenting skills, making graphics, leadership, and being able to explain findings to people in a way that they understand.”
Sarah may be graduating in just three months, but the joy that her leadership and passion for community has brought to this year’s Science Olympiad will continue to further its legacy. (Professor Clark has already asked her to come back and run an event at next year’s Science Olympiad!) After graduation, Sarah will be stepping into a design engineer position for Husco International, Inc., in Wisconsin, allowing her committee members to follow in her footsteps.
Interested in taking part in this campuswide community initiative? Volunteer at next year’s Science Olympiad or get connected with the team by emailing science.olympiad@valpo.edu.
