Marine life is a fascinating subject to observe. The ocean blue with its depths and breathtaking views. If the ocean calls your name, there are others who share this passion, too.

At LQHS, it’s the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, a new club on campus. 

NOSB focuses on marine science and recently had their first competition on Saturday, Feb. 5. It was held via Zoom, where the students were asked trivia questions on marine science. 

There are different categories offered in the NOSB. For instance biology, chemistry and geography to name just a few.

Diana Esquivel ‘25 is a contributor to the NOSB and showed great enthusiasm when talking about the club.

“What I like most is the team building and how it’s a fun environment where you can talk to people and make friends,” she said.

She encourages students to join NOSB if they are interested in marine science. The NOSB has lots of different things to disclose.

“It’s really interesting you learn lots of stuff and you might know stuff you didn’t know,” said Esquivel.  “I’ve been really enjoying science, so it was something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.”  

The club adviser, Maureen Wiser, is experienced in competitive science bowls and has a strong familiarity with it. Wiser is a science department chair on campus, and was recognized as one of the Teachers of the year.

“I’ve been a competitive Science Bowl person for a while now. My former clubs at my previous school have won nationals in the past, so I kind of know what I’m doing, ”said Wiser.

“I think it’s a great idea to get more students interested in competing at that level,” said Wiser. “It gives them a lot of good experience and it looks fantastic on a resume.” 

At her previous school, those students won nationals. There were up to five members on the team with three of them getting directly recruited to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in that very competition.

“I love giving the students the opportunity to explore something that we wouldn’t normally do,” said Wiser. “We don’t have an oceanography class, but they get to explore things that they are passionate about.” 

The team was nominated for the regionals this year that are being held at NASA JPL. Since it’s the clubs first year, the regionals wanted to encourage new teams to compete.

“When we were doing the presentation of the clubs on the field [during the Winter bowl rally] and we were going around with the [inflatable] shark, everybody was talking about it and I really loved it,” said Wiser. “It felt so special.” 

Liam Alagos ‘22 is also a club member. He joined the club because it gave him the opportunity to learn more about his passion and gain experience.

“I was given the opportunity to learn about ocean science and I want to be a marine biologist after high school,” said Alagos.

Alagos found out about the club through the National Science Bowl (NSB); he was already part of the NSB and decided to join the NOSB. 

“I was kind of nervous because there are new people, so I didn’t really know what to do, but over time, it kind of just eased out.” said Alagos. 

“It’s a really good learning opportunity,” said Alagos. “Everyone in the club is very passionate about it.”

The NOSB will gladly have anyone join whether they are familiar with marine science or not. The club currently has a small quantity of members and is looking for anyone who is interested in joining to share their love and passion for the ocean.

Meetings are currently being held Fridays after school in room 609.