BY ANNELIESE GORDON, Senior
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood High School junior Colton Kelly, has been announced by the South Carolina Section of the American Chemical Society as a nominee for the United States National Chemical Olympiad.
“Initially I was surprised and excited upon hearing the news of my nomination,” Kelly said. ”I have always been interested in chemistry and the science and mathematics fields. I think it is a great honor to be able to compete in a national competition.”
In March, he earned one of the best scores out of 165 students to receive the nomination. Kelly is now one of only 10 students selected from South Carolina to take the 2016 National Exam held April 22 at the University of South Carolina. His score in the National Exam will eventually lead to determining if he can represent the United States on the National Olympiad team during the annual International Chemistry Olympiad.
The top 20 performers on the 2016 National Exam qualify for a study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy from which a team of four will be chosen to represent the United States. This year, the International Chemistry Olympiad is in Tbilisi, Georgia, from July 23 – August 1.
“Now that I am nominated, I am fairly nervous as I will be stacked up with some of the best chemistry students in the state, but I am also very excited for the opportunity and the ability to use my skills and knowledge in an exciting and new way outside of the classroom,” Kelly said.
Angie Hill, BHS Science teacher, was not surprised by Kelly’s success.
“I just want him to do his best,” Hill said. “He’s already made us proud, anything else beyond this is icing on the cake. He’s done extremely well, he’s very humble and I appreciate him for that. This opportunity could not have happened for a better student.”
Kelly hopes to pursue a career in science and feels this is a great opportunity for him in doing so.
“I have always been a competitive person and I hope to do my best and I know that Mrs. Hill has done an absolutely excellent job preparing me for this and also my future career as a chemical engineer,” Kelly said.
For more information on the National Chemical Olympiad, please contact Angie Hill at anhill@richland2.org.
