University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: April 26, 2007

By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer

Five local high schools students involved in the UB Biomedical STEP program and Buffalo PREP program are in the nation's capital this morning to compete in the National Science Bowl, a high-profile academic competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

(From left) Olivia Cox, Andrea Finley, Sylvie Bizimungu, Bianca Coleman and Kerris Sease are in Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Science Bowl. Competition will be held on Sunday and Monday.

The team from UB takes on 66 other regional winners from across the United States today through Monday in Washington, D.C. The team—the first all-female, all-African-American team to make it to the finals in 17 years of the competition—includes Sylvie Bizimungu, a senior at Nardin Academy; Bianca Coleman, a junior at Nardin; Olivia Cox, a senior at City Honors School; Andrea Finley, a sophomore at Sweet Home High School; and Kerris Sease, a junior at Nardin.

"We are extremely honored and proud of these young ladies," says Monyuette Coplin, director of the UB Biomedical STEP program and Buffalo PREP graduate program. "It paves the way for future young African-American females, thus encouraging them to strive for academic excellence in the sciences. Furthermore, we continue to maintain high expectations from the young ladies and from the students of the Biomedical STEP Program."

Last month, the team from UB advanced to the finals of the National Science Bowl after winning the Rochester Regional Championship at Monroe Community College. A second team from the UB Biomedical STEP program took second place at that competition.

The students in Washington this week spent the past several months in rigorous preparation for the competition, says Coplin, noting that practices on weekends and throughout spring break often lasted as long as four to five hours. Science Bowl competitions are fast-paced, head-to-head faceoffs on such topics as biology, chemistry, earth science, math, computer science, physics and astronomy in a question-and-answer format similar to "Jeopardy."

"For students to come in on Saturdays, especially after going to school all week, takes a real commitment and love of science," says Coplin, who is assistant coach of the team. "They're very competitive and determined."

The prize for teams who finish first, second and third in the national competition is an educational trip to Australia, France or Newport News, Va. As finalists, the students are enjoying a tour of the nation's capital.

Twiggs Seymore, a science instructor with the Buffalo PREP program and coach of the team, says the accomplishment of the team's members—in terms of reaching the finals as well as their numerous academic achievements and extracurricular activities—is inspiring.

"A lot of our students have dreams and aspirations of becoming scientists and doctors," he says. "We've been very fortunate to have young people of color with a love of science."

About 50 students from Buffalo's public and private schools in grades nine though 12 participate in the UB Biomedical STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program), which prepares students in underrepresented minorities for admission into the medical and health-related professions. STEP provides academic instruction, tutorial services, curriculum-enrichment activities, summer research opportunities, vocational or personal counseling and a parental involvement component. Buffalo PREP is a nonprofit organization housed in Acheson Hall, South Campus, that offers gifted students in underrepresented minorities the chance to enhance their education through weekend and summer activities and instruction.

Several students from the UB Biomedical STEP program participating in the National Science Bowl Competition also are members of winning teams in other recent scientific and technological competitions. Bizimungu and Cox are two of four students on the team that came in second statewide at the 2007 STEP Statewide Student Conference in March, and Bizimungu and Finley are two of the five gold medalists in the local NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) Competition who will participate in that competition's finals in Detroit in July.