By Thalia MILLER

This year, CV High School students and organizations have faced the difficulty of adapting to the world during lockdown. Specifically, members of the CV Academy of Science and Medicine have been forced to change their tried-and-true methods of helping students prepare for a future in the science field. From virtual field trips to meetings over Zoom, the Academy has improvised to provide the best opportunities for their students.

One of these opportunities was the National SkillsUSA competition. The competition was held virtually this year but still allowed students from around the country to participate in various categories. Some categories that Academy students competed in include extemporaneous speaking, health knowledge bowl, medical math and medical terminology, among others. Despite the challenging circumstances faced by the Academy students, several passed through the regional and state competitions and will continue to compete on the national level.

Another difficult competition that students had to compete in from home was the HOSA, or Health Occupations Students of America, competition. Among other students who did well in the initial levels, several students placed first and second in their categories and will move on to the international HOSA competition. These students include Mantra Roointan and Michelle Chung in Research Poster, a team comprised of Kevin Dong, Eric Markarian, Megan Parada and Ashley Park in HOSA Bowl, and Liana Kazarian in medical terminology.

Roointan and Chung are two students of the Academy’s Science Research Class (SRC) who have done extraordinarily well even when faced with the limitations of COVID. They were on separate teams for the SkillsUSA competition and, accompanied by fellow SRC students, won gold in the categories of career pathway showcase in natural resources/agriculture/food cluster and career pathway showcase in health services cluster. These students have looked into specific areas of the medical field that have an absence of knowledge or data and have researched ways to close this gap of knowledge. In a year unaffected by COVID, they would have access to labs or other in-person benefits; however, many limitations were placed on them this year. Yet these SRC students were able to go above and beyond the expectations for their grade and level of expertise, gathering professional data and creating excellent projects. They have competed in numerous other competitions and performed equally well.

Thanks to the support of teachers and staff like Orenda Tuason, Veronica Clementel, and Alamelu Arunachalam, the Academy students were able to thrive in this unusual year, and bring pride to every person involved in the Academy.