The academic team from Portsmouth Notre Dame High School recently competed in the 2014 National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. Team members, from left to right, are senior Scott Warren, junior Colin Haskins, junior Bobby Morris, senior Jessica Schmidt and senior Will Haney. In the back row are, from left to right, U.S. Department of Energy representative Greg Simonton, Notre Dame Coach Matt Mader and Joel Bradburne, DOE representative and Site Lead at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Notre Dame earned a berth in the national event after winning the South Central Ohio Regional Science Bowl on March 7, 2014, at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth.
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio ̶ Although the Portsmouth Notre Dame High School academic team did not win a match at the National Science Bowl in April, coach Matt Mader said he and his students had an extraordinary experience in Washington, D.C., and returned with a new appreciation for the competition.
“It was an eye-opening experience,” Mader said. “We didn’t know what to expect. The competition level was extremely high and there were many teams with a lot of experience.”
The Titans were making their first trip to the National Science Bowl after claiming the Second Annual South Central Ohio Regional Science Bowl in March at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth. The team consisted of senior captain Will Haney, seniors Jessica Schmidt and Scott Warren, and juniors Collin Haskins and Bobby Morris.
Haney said the event provided him with a new understanding of what to expect when he continues his education at Ohio State University.
“It gives you an idea of what it is going to take and how hard you are going to have to work to compete,” said Haney, who also participates in football, basketball, baseball, Key Club, National Honor Society and Ohio Model Nations.
Greg Simonton, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Regional Coordinator for the South Central Ohio Regional Science Bowl, participated in the execution of the National Science Bowl in the nation’s capital. He said the National Science Bowl is part of DOE’s effort to promote interest in fields related to science and math to the nation’s young people.
“Every time students have experiences like the ones they have at the National Science Bowl, this nation wins and our local communities win,” Simonton said. “These students also got to tour the nation’s capital and develop friendships with other students from around the nation. This will impact how they view their academic pursuits and their futures.”
Coach Mader said getting to experience the national competition will help him build his academic program.
“It is like any kind of program -- you have to develop a system and be confident in it. This will help us when we compete in future regionals,” he said. “This whole experience was a great thing for our school.”