Clubs that involve STEM competitions and olympiads are often considered quintessential high school extracurriculars. Yet, in response to Malden High’s lack of science-based academic teams for a long time, junior Raphael Orcino decided to found the school’s newest Science Competition Club (SCC).
Last year, Orcino collaborated with science teacher John Frigo to establish Malden High’s Science Olympiad Team. However, they have since rebranded it as the SCC, with Orcino as President and Frigo as the club advisor. Along the way, they recruited like-minded officers passionate about STEM, including seniors Vice President Tsering Shakya, Event Captain Kathleen Yick, Treasurer Lanyu Liang, and Outreach Coordinator Erica Lu—and junior Secretary Thomas Conti.
The SCC maintains a similar goal under a different name: to increase MHS students’ participation in science and mathematics scholastic competitions. Although the club’s focus continues to be preparing for the Science Olympiad, Orcino explained how the name was rebranded so that members can anticipate new opportunities to compete in other competitions beyond the Science Olympiad, from the USA Biolympiad (USABO) to the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO).
With competitions being a major part of the SCC, Orcino described how he “craved that feeling of adrenaline,” after attending a science competition during his freshman year at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, which drove him to found the STEM-based competition club at Malden High. He added that, although MHS has many opportunities, “the City of Malden was missing out on letting people take their skills to a competitive setting and show what they have to bring to the table,” The SCC aims to tackle this challenge head-on.
“A lot of different schools in Massachusetts come to compete. It’s a great opportunity to go to these competitions and meet new people and see how you stack up to these other schools,” said John Frigo. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Each SCC member ranked their top choices for competition categories to join—whether it is testing their knowledge under pressure in “Anatomy and Physiology,” engineering an elastic cord system in “Bungee Drop,” or creating solutions to mitigate the spread of health diseases in “Disease Detectives.” In doing so, they may also gain the mentorship of officers who lead those particular categories.
Junior Joseph Alayane, a member of the team competing in “Optics”, was enthused about one of his chosen categories as it “reveals ways humans perceive light and its forms, and different tricks light plays on us; for example, the color purple doesn’t exist.” Experienced in physics, he also joined “Bungee Drop” and thought that it was “exciting to see if what you spent time designing works and how it does.”
Through competing, he continued, “I can go to different places such as different colleges and universities across Massachusetts and even help begin to plan life after high school.”
Currently, meetings primarily consist of collaborating on projects and preparing to succeed in upcoming competitions. Lu expressed that meetings are lively, with members enjoying various activities, including “studying, researching, building, or experimenting!”
Leading a category is a rigorous task. For Orcino, “it has definitely given me a different perspective of how to lead things on a smaller scale. Running the club is one thing, but running an actual event is another.”
However, it has also been rewarding for him. “I’ve met so many great people—like some impressive sophomores who are very passionate about the sciences.”
SCC’s core aspects include not only competitions but “building a supportive and curious community,” Yick explained. She hopes that students are “motivated to explore their interests further here and they have a support group to do so… At first, I joined because of my competitive spirit and love for competitions, but there’s also that community drive to explore beyond what we’re taught in class.”
Yick added that the “flexibility and freedom” in exploring a STEM topic of one’s choice through the club is “liberating… and you’re not alone in it cause you have a team.”
The officers also hope that the club will support more aspiring women leaders in STEM. She noted that “since most of the officers are majority female, we’re hoping that more female students are inclined to join.”
Ultimately, according to Yick, the SCC “is a club for exploring and lots of laughs. If you’re interested in STEM, there’s a 92 percent chance you might find your calling here.”
The club is set to compete in several Science Olympiad Invitational Tournaments in 2025, including at: Columbia University on January 25, Harvard University on February 1, Brown University on February 8, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst on February 15. More dates are yet to be determined.
Although the club currently hosts bi-weekly meetings on Wednesdays in B440, the officers plan on making them weekly as competition dates draw near. For more details and updates, be sure to follow them @mhs.scc on Instagram!
