By Julia Bae

For the many students interested in STEM at Winsor, clubs are an opportunity to continue exploring their interests outside of the classroom. Quantumplaters, which is co-headed by Lily Levitzky ’23 and Natalie Pan ’23 and advised by Ms. Cohen, is only in its second year. However, Quantumplaters has quickly become known as an engaging club that explores different aspects of STEM, and many students look forward to attending the meeting each Day 4.

In Quantumplaters, students learn about different STEM careers, prepare for the MIT Science Olympiad, and participate in other STEM-related activities and discussions. In a recent meeting, members discussed the types of STEM careers that interested them the most. Levitzky and Pan then communicated with Dr. Daniel Chung, an anesthesiologist at Morristown Medical Center, and arranged for him to create a video regarding his career. In the presentation, Dr. Chung shared insights into his work as an anesthesiologist and described his path to becoming a doctor. He also gave advice about anesthesiology and suggested some habits and traits that would be best suited to the specialty. After watching the video presentation, Remy Kim ’25 shared, “I really appreciated being able to hear directly from Dr. Chung, as I learned a ton about the intricacies of being an anesthesiologist.”

Another major part of Quantumplaters is its participation in the MIT Science Olympiad (SciOly). The SciOly is held in January, and the competition is composed of 23 events, with two to three team members per event. There are several categories of events, spanning from Earth Science to Physical Science to Life and Social Science. Each event falls into one of four types: Core Knowledge Events, which are typically written tests about a set of topics; Build Events, which involve designing, creating, and testing a designated object; Laboratory Events, which involve a hands-on activity; and Hybrid Events, which are a combination of event types.

Students participating in the SciOly prepare during club meetings and during their own time outside of school. Ms. Holtz, a new Chemistry and STEM teacher, assists Quantumplaters during their group practice sessions. Ms. Holtz clarified that preparation is “mostly a student-led process, but [she’s] there to answer questions and direct the group toward helpful resources and practice materials.” Ms. Holtz also emphasized the fact that the competition is “a team effort and requires a lot of preparation!” Given the club’s dedicated studying as well as their collaborative and supportive environment, Quantumplaters is sure to perform their best at the SciOly and in their other STEM endeavors.