#SoCaltech: Hannah Hu

“As a high school student, I was the one doing the competition, so there’s a lot of novelty in being on the other side of Science Olympiad [as a member of the planning committee]. A lot of freshmen help out because we just graduated from high school, and we see all these high schoolers working really hard, and we’re like, ‘That was us! We’re going to help you out where we can.’

We write the tests, but we also organize all the rooms that the tests are going to be taken in, we handle publicity and outreach, and we organize all the volunteers. I’ve gotten really good at using Excel spreadsheets! Being on the committee has taught me not just about leadership but also about all of the aspects of running an event, especially the day of, when things are going to go wrong. I mean, it’s inevitable. Things are always going to fall apart, and you have to find a way to put them back together.”

Hannah Hu (class of ’22) participated in the Southern California Science Olympiad tournament as a member of her high school team. Now a first-year undergraduate student at Caltech, she served on the planning committee for this year’s event held on April 6. 

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu