Once a week, from September to February, more than 40 engineers from ViaSat, Inc. volunteer their time to work with middle and high school students to prepare them to compete in the San Diego Regional Science Olympiad.
Congregating in a warehouse in the back of the sprawling ViaSat campus, the volunteers teach the students about science, engineering and how to design things with a team. In this extracurricular activity, students create and launch rockets, build bridges, explore robotics and more. More than 200 students from district schools, including Calavera Hills, Valley and Aviara Oaks middle schools, and Carlsbad and Sage Creek high schools, flock to these weekly after school meetings, with the support of CUSD Science Olympiad coaches Aaron Sottile, Ashley Crawford, James Fieberg, Nic Levitt, and Amanda Tsoi.
Last month, CUSD teams competed against 160 schools in the San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, which has the largest olympiad region in the country. Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition that encourages kids to explore interesting science topics, while also learning to be a part of a team, think on their feet and solve interesting problems.
Students choose from 23 different Science Olympiad STEM events, from forensics, fossils or astronomy to cell biology, experimental design, or geologic mapping. The Carlsbad High School team won a trophy for 10th place overall, and Jenna Umphreyville was a finalist in forensics.
Phil Hwang, a ViaSat volunteer engineer, says, "We need future scientists and engineers. We volunteer to get the kids involved so they will pursue a career in a STEM field. We want to encourage them to dream big and be different. The best inventions come from crazy ideas." As engineer Shameem Hasmi, SO volunteer and organizer, says, "Science Olympiad is making science super cool again."
In the words of an Olympiad middle schooler, "I learned that Science isn't just in the classroom."
The volunteers hosted an awards celebration at ViaSat for their teams in March.
The Science Olympiad program is supported by ViaSat and the Carlsbad Educational Foundation.
"We are so appreciative of all that ViaSat does for our students," stated Carlsbad Educational Foundation CEO Michelle Ginn. "The Science Olympiad is a great business partnership. The most exciting part is that students get to interact with the volunteers and learn about the real applications of what they learn about in their science classes."
Congregating in a warehouse in the back of the sprawling ViaSat campus, the volunteers teach the students about science, engineering and how to design things with a team. In this extracurricular activity, students create and launch rockets, build bridges, explore robotics and more. More than 200 students from district schools, including Calavera Hills, Valley and Aviara Oaks middle schools, and Carlsbad and Sage Creek high schools, flock to these weekly after school meetings, with the support of CUSD Science Olympiad coaches Aaron Sottile, Ashley Crawford, James Fieberg, Nic Levitt, and Amanda Tsoi.
Last month, CUSD teams competed against 160 schools in the San Diego Regional Science Olympiad, which has the largest olympiad region in the country. Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition that encourages kids to explore interesting science topics, while also learning to be a part of a team, think on their feet and solve interesting problems.
Students choose from 23 different Science Olympiad STEM events, from forensics, fossils or astronomy to cell biology, experimental design, or geologic mapping. The Carlsbad High School team won a trophy for 10th place overall, and Jenna Umphreyville was a finalist in forensics.
Phil Hwang, a ViaSat volunteer engineer, says, "We need future scientists and engineers. We volunteer to get the kids involved so they will pursue a career in a STEM field. We want to encourage them to dream big and be different. The best inventions come from crazy ideas." As engineer Shameem Hasmi, SO volunteer and organizer, says, "Science Olympiad is making science super cool again."
In the words of an Olympiad middle schooler, "I learned that Science isn't just in the classroom."
The volunteers hosted an awards celebration at ViaSat for their teams in March.
The Science Olympiad program is supported by ViaSat and the Carlsbad Educational Foundation.
"We are so appreciative of all that ViaSat does for our students," stated Carlsbad Educational Foundation CEO Michelle Ginn. "The Science Olympiad is a great business partnership. The most exciting part is that students get to interact with the volunteers and learn about the real applications of what they learn about in their science classes."