For the 2023-2024 school year, the Associated Student Body has approved 29 new clubs. The Accolade’s cub reporters from the beginning journalism class will report on each new group in alphabetical order.
Sophomore Soojin Cho developed an admiration for biology while taking the class her freshman year at Sunny Hills.
By late November of the 2022-2023 school year in her honors biology class, Cho said she learned about an opportunity to challenge her knowledge about that particular science field.
While studying with her middle school friend, then-freshman Rhea Ji of Troy High School, at the Amerige Heights Town Center Barnes and Noble, Ji introduced her to the USA Biology Olympiad [USABO], she said.
“When I found out about the USABO competition, I was intrigued and researched about it for weeks at home,” Cho said. “I really wanted to participate and become more knowledgeable about biology.”
But upon researching the competition in the next two weeks, the then-freshman experienced a major setback.
“I realized our school needed a USABO-related club in order to register for the exam,” Cho said. “I was incredibly heartbroken and disappointed because I really wanted to participate.”
So instead of giving up, she decided to step up to the petri dish and start a club on her own.
In late September last semester, the sophomore said she submitted her application for club approval to the Associated Student Body [ASB] and after subsequently presenting it to the ASB, she got approval two weeks later.
But Cho was heartbroken again when she was trying to register in late November to take the test next year and found out that she needed to get Sunny Hills approved as a testing site by the school administration beforehand. The test would be given during a school day.
The club’s adviser, science teacher Monet Favreau, informed Cho that the paperwork would be too much, and so the club would have to wait until the next school year to processing everything to have the campus become a testing site, Cho said.
“I was devastated because I really wanted to take the test for two years now, but hopefully I can take it next year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Cho said the club still plans to train students during its meetings for the 50-minute-long USA Biology Olympiad exam that members hope to take in 2025, she said. The multiple-choice, 50-question test covers biology topics such as ecology and anatomy.
Cho’s friend, Ji, ironically has since transferred to Sunny Hills as a sophomore this school year, and she joined the club since its inception and serves as a lecture coordinator.
“Soojin put a lot of effort into making the club and attempting to register for the exam this year and I am really proud of her,” she said. “Though we will not be able to host the exam, I have faith in Soojin and [co-president sophomore Nicole Park] that they will make the exam possible!”
Cho invites others interested in biology to join her club.
“Our club is unique as no other club at our school is directly involved with biology as a subject,” she said. “We allow students who love biology to thrive by providing opportunities to participate in biology-related activities and give more in-depth lectures about biology to prepare for the exam.”
Bio Club meets every other Tuesday in Room 105. The club also post important meeting dates on its Instagram @shhsbioclub. For more information, contact Cho at [email protected] or Park at [email protected].
