CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The top-performing West Virginia high school students in the Chemistry Olympiad were honored at a banquet Thursday night at the University of Charleston.
Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Paul Hill delivered a keynote speech and discussed STEM career opportunities- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The banquet honored the top scorers in the Chemistry Olympiad. Hill explained the purpose of the organization.
“It’s a test that students take each year to increase their interest and participation in fields like chemistry,” Hill said. “But there are also physics majors and biology majors here as well.”
He said over 500 students statewide sat for the test. He stressed the importance of STEM fields, especially to the growth of West Virginia’s education.
“The STEM fields are so important to our state; developing new technology, developing the types of jobs that will employ other people in this state,” he said. “There’s a lot of emphasis on that and we’re seeing a steady growth in the number of students attracted to those fields.”
Hill thought that high school students should begin taking STEM courses in high school.
“I’ll encourage the students this evening in my remarks to take those courses because they will prepare them for similar types of courses when they get to college,” Hill explained. “They will be much more college and career ready when they get there and will be able to pursue jobs in those particular fields.”
The awards were broken up into students taking the test for the first year and those taking it the second year. First, second and third place awards were handed out for each year.