STATE CHAMP — Newberry High ninth grader Julia Cole won first in the state for the National Junior Beta Science competition. She heads to Kentucky for the national competition this summer for another round. — Staff photo by Leslie Moses
Other than watching Discovery Channel, the 14-year-old didn’t really study for Junior Beta’s annual competition in Myrtle Beach, but that was no barrier to Cole placing first in the state science contest in December.
The teen says she knew most answers to the roughly 50-60 multiple choice questions and finished in about 20 minutes on the hour-long limited exam.
There was this one tough question about a specific vein in the heart, she says, but overall, Cole felt OK after the exam.
“I thought I did pretty good,” she says shyly.
So Cole isn’t bad in science. Not bad at all.
But Junior Beta sponsor Tina Phillips suspects “quiet and subdued” Cole may be even better in English. Phillips doesn’t teach Cole but sees her at Beta Club meetings.
And the science champ differs from science-engrossed students who, Phillips says, have science as “part of their conversation.”
“I don’t feel that science is her strongest subject,” says Phillips.
Cole’s artistic side is also apparent.
She pitches in good ideas during discussions, say, when club members were designing their T-shirt and a poster, says Phillips.
Cole is also first chair in clarinet and has won a lot of band awards.
And besides the science test, she also painted a picture and designed a poster for the Junior Beta competition and placed in the top five with the Newberry High group for a songfest competition.
“She’s very well-rounded,” says her physical science teacher Laurel Sullivan, “very diverse, and overall a great kid.”
BETA BITS
Cole beat out other fifth though ninth graders statewide in Junior Beta Club for the science competition win.
Newberry High School Junior Beta Club members must have a 93 grade or better in every course to be inducted in the club and maintain at least an 85 average to keep membership. The national Beta constitution says students must be working on or above grade level.
Annually, the Myrtle Beach competition hosts school-subject contests, ranging from math to performance arts.
For individual contests like the science competition Cole entered, only one student represents the entire school. Cole only signed up for the science contest “because nobody else wanted to do it,” she says.
She heads to Kentucky this summer to represent Newberry High in the national science competition.
COUNTY NOTES
Cole took first in the science competition for Newberry High, but county classmates fared well, too.
Placing second in the statewide competition was Andrew Wicker from Mid-Carolina High School, and in third was Willie Traylor from Mid-Carolina Middle School.
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