On Jan. 27, West High traveled to Ames, Iowa, for the state-wide Science Bowl. The team, sponsored by science teacher Carolyn Walling, consisted of five students: Eman Elsheikh ’18, Adam Conrad ’18, Niki Alden ’18, Khushi Kapoor ’18 and Pareen Mhatre ’18.

“I got an e-mail from Gregg [Shoultz] that was forwarded from the U.S. Department of Energy encouraging teachers to get a team together. I checked with the rest of the science department and no one else wanted to do it…so I volunteered,” Walling said.

This year was the first time after more than five years that West High brought a team to the competition.

“The five of us spent several weeks preparing for the competition. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we tried to review as much as we could to prepare ourselves,” Kapoor said.

Although West did not proceed onto the elimination rounds, West Des Moines Valley High School placed third, Ames High School ranked second and Johnston High School scored first. Click here for the official results.