Solon High Student Features: Aman Jain and Pranav Iyer

Student participants are the reason Science Olympiad thrives today. Their interest and growth in STEM fields motivate them to excel in and out of competition.

Ohio Science Olympiad wants to highlight these exceptional students. Below are Q&As with Solon High School seniors Aman Jain and Pranav Iyer.

Pranav Iyer, Co-Captain

Grade: Senior
Years involved with Science Olympiad: 7 years

How did you first get involved with Science Olympiad?

I first got involved when my brother joined the team in sixth grade, inspiring me to do the same.

What do you like most about participating in Science Olympiad?

I love the overnight competitions and spending time with the team. Getting to know other amazing, smart, driven individuals who also share a passion for science is the best part.

What is your favorite event?

Electric Vehicle

What advice do you have for students who are thinking about getting involved with this program?

I would tell them that it is a worthwhile investment, and all the knowledge learned and experiences had I will cherish forever. Secondly, I would advise that you have to put the time in to get something out. Although it may be difficult when initially getting involved, as you keep learning and experimenting or building, it becomes far easier and more enjoyable.

What do you want to be when you grow up and do you think Science Olympiad has helped you toward that goal?

I am currently undecided but if anything, I think it would cool to work for a company like Space X. I think Science Olympiad has confirmed my love for science and most importantly has allowed me to explore different branches of science. By dabbling in chemistry, biology, earth science, physics and more, I have settled on engineering as a future major, a large part of which I attribute to Science Olympiad.

Aman Jain, Co-Captain

Grade: Senior
Years involved with Science Olympiad: 7 years

How did you first get involved with Science Olympiad?

I tried out for Science Olympiad in fifth grade – the year I moved here – because I heard it on the school announcements. I didn't make the team that year though, but I did make it in sixth grade. Since then, I have done SO every year of school.

What do you like most about participating in Science Olympiad?

The best part about Science Olympiad is the people. It is great to be surrounded by really smart and dedicated people that love learning about science as much as I do. Many of my closest friends have come from SO, and a lot of people (now graduates) have served as role models for me. Science Olympiad was the first time I learned about working hard to be competitive at the highest level. One of the accomplishments I am most proud of is winning Nationals in ninth grade, and that was a feat that required an immense amount of discipline and true enjoyment of what I was learning.

What is your favorite event?

My favorite event was Crave the Wave. I really liked how many different branches of physics is involved, and how they were all interrelated and nuanced in their own ways. I learned so much about so many different topics by studying for that event. I especially enjoyed drawing ray diagrams because they were very logical and methodically solved, and sometimes they ended up looking very much like art.

Every year I have done Science Olympiad, I have always done a physics event and it is generally my favorite event for that year, but Crave the Wave stood out because the topics were so plentiful. I had to learn about optics, acoustics, earthquakes, water waves, and electromagnetism. The breadth of information I had to cover always kept me busy.

What advice do you have for students who are thinking about getting involved with this program?

For people that think Science Olympiad might be for them, I highly encourage them to try it. There is bound to be at least one event from the 23 that you will like! It is a great way to explore your interests and make many great friends along the way. Competing is also very fun, and often rewarding if you work hard at what you do.

What do you want to be when you grow up and do you think Science Olympiad has helped you toward that goal?

I want to be a computer scientist when I'm older, and I think Science Olympiad helped me identify that a lot. I realized at a pretty early point in my SO career that I enjoyed the events that were more logical and algorithmic in nature. I steered clear from biology events and gravitated towards physics and chemistry more. Then, when I did Robot Arm the last two years, it helped introduced me to programming on an Arduino, and that really piqued my interest in computer science.