A Richmond Secondary graduate is competing as captain of Team Canada in the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) this week.
Eric Li won first place in the Canadian Earth Science Olympiad in April, which earned him the position of team captain for this year's IESCO.
The 2022 IESCO is hosted virtually by Italy and will take place from Aug. 24 to 30.
“When I saw the email of my results and was told I’d be representing Canada in the international competition, I just had to take a walk outside for a bit to calm myself down,” said Li.
He added that the first person he told was his teacher sponsor, Ms. Kandola, who supported and mentored him during the Canadian Earth Science Olympiad earlier this year.
“Hopefully, my team and I will be able to represent our country well.”
Li told the Richmond News he has been meeting remotely with his teammates who are from Ontario and New Brunswick.
“The team was selected based on who scored the top four on the test in the Canadian Olympiad,” explained Li.
While the competition is being held remotely, Li says he hopes next year they will return with in-person competitions.
“I want more people to be aware there are competitions like this and that the next generation of students can also be inspired to learn more about the topic of earth science,” said Li.
Richmond schools are “not very well represented” in this competition, which is something he wants to end.
“Most schools outside the city participate in this competition quite regularly, and I want to change that.”
While winning is a priority for their team, Li said, he is looking forward to hearing how other people around the world are impacted by the topic of earth science.
"Climate change really is a global problem and people are dealing with it around the world. I want to know how others are impacted."
