By Eduardo Flores
On Monday, February 9th, from 1:50 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., NCSSM hosted the North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair for both Durham and Morganton students to compete in.
It is a yearly tradition in the Research in Biology program for students to participate in the science fair during the last two weeks of J-Term to show off the knowledge and technical skills they gained during their first J-Term.
Unfortunately, this year’s cohort would not be so lucky.
At first, things were moving smoothly: model organisms were being cared for, methods were being developed, and experiments were underway. Amid all the hustle and bustle, however, people began to notice snow in the forecast. Most thought nothing of it. North Carolina has been “threatened” by snow before, and it usually amounts to little more than slush. But on Saturday, January 24th, NCSSM was covered in a thick blanket of snow. At first, it didn’t seem like a major issue. Later that day, however, campus shifted to Condition 2 and classes could no longer meet in person.
Despite it all, hopes were still high. Everyone on campus, including instructors, had expected the snow to only last a couple of days before things would go back to normal and students were allowed to resume classes. But, as time passed, Condition 2 status kept getting pushed back further and further until it was time for students to be sent home for the extended weekend. Nerves were running rampant, but once students returned to campus, there would still be a few days to put finishing touches on projects in person before the fair.
That is, until BBR flooded, and suddenly our first week of the semester became remote.
Instead of collaborating in person to finalize experiments, students met over Zoom whenever possible. Some even had to walk Dr. Heather Mallory, instructor of RBio, through lab procedures remotely in hopes of producing presentable data before the science fair. Experimental timelines were compressed, and adjustments had to be made.
Finally, on Sunday, February 8th, after days of uncertainty, people were allowed to return to campus. The science fair would be held the very next day.
After a full day of classes, students headed to their assigned poster spots to prepare for judging. While projects may not have unfolded exactly as planned, they represented something more than uninterrupted lab work.
Scientific research rarely follows a perfect timeline. In professional settings, things go wrong, equipment malfunctions, funding shifts, and experiments fail. What RBio students experienced was not an exception to real science, but rather an introduction to it. The delays forced students to think critically under pressure, communicate procedures clearly enough for someone else to execute, and adapt their research questions when circumstances changed. They learned how to troubleshoot remotely, collaborate effectively in uncertain conditions, and present findings even when data felt incomplete.
In the end, the cohort did more than present mini-projects. They demonstrated flexibility, perseverance, and the ability to adapt when plans unraveled. And in doing so, they gained a kind of experience that cannot be scheduled into a syllabus.
The understanding that in both academia and life, growth often comes from the unexpected.
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