ASFA Science Bowl goes to Washington

ASFA's Science Bowl team A, consisting of, from left, Rishi Yellamraju, Elias Mrug, Cynthia Liu, Dexter Gard and Daniel Zhao, recently competed in the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C.

ASFA's Science Bowl team A recently competed in the National Science Bowl, a prestigious academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in various fields of science, on April 30. The competition was held in Washington, D.C., where the team also had the opportunity to visit some of the famous landmarks and museums. The team, consisting of Elias Mrug, Daniel Zhao, Dexter Gard, Rishi Yellamraju, and Cynthia Liu, performed well overall and ranked in the top half of the competition.

The team prepared for the competition by going to other Science Bowl competitions and holding practices both with themselves and other teams. They also studied from high school and college level textbooks to prepare for the questions. Participants learned a lot from both preparing for and participating in the competition.

One of the team members, Elias Mrug, a Math/Science junior on team A, shared his journey and achievements. Elias said that the team performed really well overall and was extremely close to progressing into the double elimination part of the competition, which had the top 32 teams nationwide.

After the competition, the team had a chance to explore the city and visit some of the famous landmarks and museums, which Elias said was one of the most memorable parts of the trip. The trip included a tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He also enjoyed meeting other students from different states and regions who shared his passion for science and math. He said that he made some new friends and learned a lot from them.

If you are interested in participating in Science Bowl, Elias says to start as early as possible. Two to three teams each year from ASFA get to go to regionals, where they have a chance to progress to nationals.