Heidi Zamora Valdés is one of the twelfth grade students who opted for university careers through participation in Knowledge Olympics and Contests. Heidi, who belongs to the Instituto Preuniversitario Antonio Santiago García, in the municipality of Contramaestre, obtained the third place in the Chemistry Olympics at national level, a result that will allow her to study Chemical Engineering in the next school year.
Journalist: How was the experience of participating in the National Chemistry Olympics?
I have been participating in Olympiads and contests since tenth grade; as I have always liked Chemistry, I joined the competitions since I started pre-university. Professor Gisela was my coach, and together with her I was achieving accomplishments little by little, until now in twelfth grade I won in the Olympiads and I was awarded the course I wanted. I networked with other students, to review together and make study houses.Q: What is your opinion about the opportunity to obtain college degrees through participation in competitions?
-A: That is a convenient way to get into college, because you don't have to take entrance exams. At the same time, it is a kind of competition, because it is at the national level, but that allows you to train for the course. I recommend that everyone participate in the competitions, not for the courses, but for the knowledge.Q: Why chemistry?
-A: What I like most about chemistry is the reactions; seeing how the properties of a substance can be changed by adding another substance to it is what attracts me the most.Q: How do you value the Chemistry that is currently taught in the pre-university classrooms?
-A: Chemistry in the classroom is interesting, but it doesn't compare to what is taught to the contestants, because it's a different curriculum and the content is more advanced. But even so, the teachers in the classroom do encourage us to study, besides the beauty of the subject itself gives us the motivation.In high school, studying is not only a duty, but an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills that will pave the way to a successful professional life. Heidi Zamora, a young contramaestrense passionate about chemistry, will begin her college years under this premise, always surrounded by formulas and reactions.
Written by Yadila Mesa Chacón, journalism student.
