On Sunday, May 31, twenty flights from across every corner of the nation touched down in Baltimore, Maryland. Unbeknownst to other travelers, each plane had something in common: it was carrying a National Chemistry Olympiad finalist, one of whom was Wayzata sophomore Yan-Ru Cao.
The U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp is held annually at the University of Maryland, where the nation’s top chemistry students from ages 14-18 will receive rigorous training and lectures from experienced mentors for two weeks. After the camp is finished, four students along with two alternates will be chosen to represent the United States in the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad, which will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The twenty finalists’ first step to the camp was a local exam administered by the American Chemical Society in March, which over nine thousand students sat for both online and in-person. The exam consisted of sixty multiple-choice questions on a wide variety of chemical concepts.
After the local exam, one thousand of the highest scorers advanced to the
national exam, which was held in April and contained meticulous free-response questions and lab practicals. Once the national exam concluded, the finalists were chosen and notified of their qualification for a spot in one of the most prestigious science programs in America.
Cao’s achievement was not without years of hard work and determination, even going back to middle school. “This year was not my first year doing this competition, with last year placing in the top one-hundred fifty,” he stated. “I have been learning about chemistry since about seventh or eighth grade. I have also taken some online classes specifically geared toward Olympiad Chemistry in order to improve my chemistry in general, and I have done many, many practice problems.”
Competition at the camp will undoubtedly be fierce. Five students are returning for a second time, and Cao acknowledged that his main goal is to gain experience in the lab and grow his passion for chemistry while balancing his mixed emotions. “I am pretty excited, given that this is my first time at the camp… I am still a bit worried I underprepared and a bit nervous about such an important experience,” he shared.
Finally, balancing schoolwork with preparing for the camp in a rigorous schedule with AP and Honors classes has proven to be challenging. “Due to this camp occurring during the end of school, I have had to take many quizzes and tests early before I leave,” noted Cao. “This has made it a bit challenging for me to focus only on chemistry the week before I leave for camp, but in the end I was able to both fit in the readings recommended for camp and be finished with my schoolwork.”
Though the camp will be difficult, pushing finalists to the limits of their knowledge and learning ability, Cao is looking forward to the experience. His achievement is being celebrated by the whole school, and we can’t wait to see what he’ll accomplish next!
