As standardized testing season approaches, students all over campus are hitting the books.  However, for the members of Health Occupations Students of America, Robotics, and Science Olympiad,  the coming of April doesn’t just mean cramming for Advanced Placement tests, it also marks the time for fierce competition.

Though spring break has just ended, members of HOSA recently took a break from going to class to attend the State Leadership Conference, which took place last week in the Merit Hotel in Anaheim.

The members were tested on a variety of occupational subjects of their choice, including behavioral health, nutrition, dental science, medical terminology, and medical reading, among others. There was also a HOSA bowl, in which students got together in groups of five and raced to answer questions.

“Students mostly participate in these highly competitive events in order to build their own valuable experiences and connections that will help with their future career pathway in the medical field,” club treasurer Amanda Hsieh said.

Only people who took first, second, or third place in the categories will proceed from SLC to Nationals, which will be taking place June 22-25 in Nashville. Junior Elaine Yip placed 2nd in biomedical laboratory and senior Dawn Sul placed 3rd in dental science.

Additionally, this year’s Science Olympiad team participated in its own state competition over spring break. Advisor and DBHS chemistry teacher Teresa Hebert and 15 members of the Science Olympiad team traveled to Caltech to test their skills in a variety of topics, including astronomy, bridge building, electric vehicles, experimental design, and geologic mapping.

Out of the 30 participating high schools, the Brahmas  were able to secure 10th place overall, placing second in anatomy and physiology, fifth in cell biology, and fourth in forensics. However, only the team who placed first overall, Troy High School, will be proceeding to the national competition.

“We actually did third best from our region and overall placed at least five places better than we have in the last three years,  It’s nice to be able to end my high school scioly career on a higher note,” senior Science Olympiad secretary Miriam Sun said.

Meanwhile, the DBHS robotics team went to Valencia High School for a competition in the Orange County Regionals.  From March 29-31, the team members competed for the For Inspiration and Recognition for Science and Technology award in the First Robotics Competition.

The students signed up for a task-based competition in which they were given six weeks prior to the event to build a robot that could perform tasks a human would usually do, like shooting a ball into a specific range to score points.

“Our robot needed to be strong, robust, and able to traverse through multiple obstacles…” senior Engineering Captain Jonathan Ng said.

The team members began preparing for this event last summer by hosting workshops and simulating their own six-week building season.  They also participated in off-season competitions earlier in the year.

Though they didn’t make it to Nationals, the team did last until the semifinals and are already moving on by recruiting new students and choosing officer positions in order to prepare for next year’s competition.