It’s been quite a biology summer for Mercer Island resident Emma Li.
First, the 16-year-old earned a gold medal at the 12-day Center for Excellence in Education’s USA Biolympiad (USABO) National Finals for high school students at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
And now, the Lakeside School of Seattle rising senior is one of four U.S. gold-medal scholars who qualified for the 37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) in Vilnius, Lithuania. The premier event is set for July 12-19.
“I am incredibly honored to represent the United States at the international stage. It was an amazing experience at the USABO Finals at Harvard, pushing the limits of my learning while meeting some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable high schoolers across the country,” said Li, who knows the IBO will take her skills to the next level.
Li and her teammates will have an eight-day respite following the Harvard finals before launching back into biology mode in Lithuania.
The 20 national finalists first participated in 10 days of high-level biology instruction, including laboratory training and conceptual understanding, and then engaged in two days of testing. The final 20 rose to the top from a total of 12,808 registrants from 47 U.S. schools in 46 states and 35 international schools.
At Harvard, Li and her fellow biology scholars studied with leading U.S. biologists in the fields of cellular and molecular biology, plant anatomy and physiology, animal anatomy and physiology, genetics and evolution, ecology, ethology and biosystematics, according to a press release.
“It’s been really fun meeting a bunch of other people who are really excited and passionate about biology. (They’re) really smart and (I’m) learning a lot from them,” said Li, who has been a Lakeside School student since the fifth grade.
Some of the assignments that Li thrived on getting involved with were dissecting earthworms, bird watching and eyeing plants under a microscope.
“I can read a textbook on my own or study a lot on my own, but it’s in these environments, doing things hands-on with a bunch of other people who are just as excited to be doing the hands-on things, that’s really cool,” she said.
Kathy Frame, director of the USA Biolympiad, said the students experienced a high level of excellence in the finals: “This is an incredible journey these students take, and it demonstrates the passion these students have for biological sciences.”
Li credits her classmates and teachers for helping develop her passion for biology and is grateful for her friends and family for providing support along the way. She stepped into the biology realm as a ninth-grader and has kept advancing her skills as each year ticks by.
“I think once you start developing a deeper knowledge, you realize there’s only more questions and more things to explore,” she said. “And then obviously how these questions can be used to change lives and understand the world.”
The Islander sees herself continuing down the biology road in college and staying on board when it’s time to carve out a career path. Her main interest lies in molecular biology, specifically immunology.
“I really enjoy research,” she said. “I’ve done some of that on my own or joined research labs in the University of Washington with biology stuff. Labs are centered around basically teaching the next generation of scientists, and I find that pretty cool.”
For more information, visit https://www.cee.org/programs/usa-biolympiad.
