Science Symposium Saturday
Science has played a huge part of our past year as we battle the Covid-19 pandemic. Scientists, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Micheal Osterholm, have led that fight, but at one time they too were students.
Overlake is no stranger in helping develop some of the experts in a number of science fields, and it may be that the next great discovery will be made by one of our alums. Exposing students now to diverse science perspectives may spark an interest with our future scientists.
That's the primary reason that Overlake's Science Club holds an annual Science Symposium. Last year's symposium was canceled, and while this year's event is virtual, it allows some of the finest in the field to join us. "Before this year, we were limited to bringing in speakers who were in the Seattle area at the time, but this year, we were able to bring in speakers from all over the country," says Ruta R. ('21) who is the student leader of Science Club. "We hope the Overlake community attends the Symposium this year because we've brought in compelling speakers in fields that specifically relate to the most relevant issues over the next 10-20 years, specifically highlighting how science will affect our lives."
The theme of this year's symposium is How Science Affects Our Lives. The club's advisor is Science Teacher Ashley Powel, and she says that this year's speakers are at the top of their fields. "I'm all about the science and these speakers are so cool," says Powel. "It's a great opportunity to hear from these amazing speakers who have so much talent and experience, and they're volunteering their time for Overlakers to not only share but interact with our students because they know it's so important."
Science Club identified three goals they sought for this year's symposium speakers...demonstrating the importance of scientific discovery across different STEM fields, showcasing research applicable to the lives of high school students, and increasing the level of engagement of high school students by introducing them to diverse academic and career opportunities. Four speakers will join our students via Zoom and share their presentations along with question and and answer sessions. To learn more about each of our four speakers, click on their name below each photo for their stories.
Sameeksha D. ('23) is a Science Club member who will co-direct the online program. When asked why students should join Saturday's event, she quickly answered. "For the extra credit, of course! (laughs) Aside from that, we have many speakers in a variety of different fields that would be interesting to learn from. From a noble prize laureate in climate change, to someone tracking vaccination with COVID, our speakers are in relevant, upcoming fields."
Click here to join our program which begins at 10am, and everyone is welcome.