Our Leadership Team
SARAH PARIGELA
President and Founder
Sarah Parigela is a '27 from the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. She plans to double major in Chemistry and Cognitive Science, and hopes to attend medical school in the future. She was involved in Science Olympiad at Orange County School of the Arts – her favorite event is Experimental Design! Aside from SciOly, she researches fast-learning and concept development in the Psychological and Brain Sciences department. Sarah spends her free time playing the violin, cooking, and reading irrelevant news so she has something interesting to talk about.
ALEXANDER LEWTON
Vice-President and Test Lead
Alexander Lewton is a '27 from Kensington, Maryland majoring in Government and Italian. He was on his high school School Olympiad team for all four years of high school and president his senior year. His favorite events were Codebusters, Fermi Questions, and Green Generation. Outside of Dartmouth Science Olympiad he is a research assistant in the government department, involved in the Dickey Center for International Understanding, and a member of the Ledyard Canoe Club.
ANNE-SARAH NICHITIU
Vice-President
Anne-Sarah Nichitiu ’26 is a Neuroscience major and Chemistry minor from Winhall, Vermont. While a high schooler, she founded the Science Olympiads team at her highschool and lead them to compete at the NY states competition, while also competing in Disease Detectives, Ornithology, and Anatomy and Physiology. She is now a vice president of DUSO as well as the photography lead and a test writer. At Dartmouth, Anne-Sarah is also a URAD scholar doing research in the Hill Lab as well as the senior captain of the Taekwondo team and the Cadet 1st Sergeant of the Dartmouth Army ROTC program. Outside of Dartmouth, she spends her time outdoors, coaching skiing in the winter and hiking in the mountains she calls home.
HANNAH MCGEE
Secretary and Design Co-Lead
Hannah McGee is a '27 from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is planning to major in either Physics or Philosophy with a minor in International Studies. Hannah lives with her family and two cats, Scout and Calpurrnia. She is very excited to help run Science Olympiad events as she loves to engage herself in STEM in and outside of the classroom!
CAL SHIN
Treasurer and Design Co-Lead
Cal Shin is a ’27 from North Carolina hoping to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. She has been a Science Olympian since 6th grade, and so she jumped at the chance to be involved with DUSO. She is glad to be able to give back to the community that has served her so well at the collegiate level.
Email: cal.shin.27@dartmouth.edu
SONIA MEYTIN
Logistics Lead
Sonia Meytin is a '26 from Bethesda, Maryland, double majoring in Biology Modified with Mathematics and Comparative Literature. They first fell in love with their local Science Olympiad team in 6th grade, and wanted to provide others with the same positive experience once they got to college. Since they first got involved, they have studied for, competed in, or helped organize tests for 38 different events! Outside of SciOly, they are involved in undergraduate research and fence sabre on the Dartmouth College fencing team.
SAM LI
Build Lead
Sam Li is a '27 from Las Vegas, Nevada. He is excited to get involved in Science Olympiad as he has always been interested in exploring science and robotics and he wants to help facilitate an opportunity for others to do the same. He did FRC robotics competitions for 4 years and is currently doing biomedical research in developing engineering antibody vaccines for HIV. He's made a retroviral vector that he used to infect cells to make them have HIV proteins on them, and he can make his left ear wiggle!
Email: sam.li.27@dartmouth.edu
Our Members
ANNA COSTELLO
Test Writer
Anna Costello is a '28 from Smithfield, Rhode Island. She's planning to major in Biochemistry, and she hopes to one day work in research, developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. She has been in Science Olympiad since sixth grade and was co-captain of her team for two years in high school. Her favorite events (she has done many) are Codebusters, Forensics, and Microbe Mission. In her free time, Anna loves to write short fiction, play the piano, lift weights, and read sci fi novels. She is happy to keep contributing to the program that has inspired her so much throughout the past seven years.
LIA HANSEN
Test Writer and Build Supervisor
Lia Hansen is a '28 from Portland, Oregon. They plan on majoring in Biology, hoping to one day study trees. They were on their high school Science Olympiad team for all four years, team captian for the last two, especially enjoying Codebusters, Trajectory, and Fermi Questions. In their free time, Lia loves to play the piano, alpine ski, go on walks in the forest, and work on transcribing journals for the Dartmouth Library. They are incredibly excited to be a part of making Dartmouth SciOly happen, since it allows them to continue contributing to what was such an integral part of their highschool experience.
HINANO KAWAIEAEA
Communications Director
Hinano Kawaiaea is a ‘27 from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She plans to major in Environmental Studies with a double minor in Music and Native American and Indigenous Studies. At Dartmouth, she is a manager and violinist for the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, the outreach coordinator for Hokupaʻa (Pan-Pasifika Club), and a drill instructor (AT) for the Japanese Language Program. She is excited to be a part of SciOly and hopes that by helping the events run smoothly, she can provide a safe space to encourage learning!
NATHANIEL THORNELL
Test Writer and Build Supervisor
Nathaniel Thornell is a ‘28 from Cheyenne, Wyoming. He plans on majoring in Physics. He created and led his high school Science Olympiad team for his junior and senior years. He specialized in Optics, Circuit Lab, and any other physics/math related subject. Nathaniel is fond of solving Rubik’s cubes, helping with his high school’s STEM camp, and participating in sports like table tennis, tennis, and climbing. Nathaniel is beyond excited to help Dartmouth run its own competition especially since it improves the depth of curiosity in science subjects outside the classroom.
RYAN ZHENG
Test Writer and Build Supervisor
Ryan Zheng is a ’28 from New Hampshire. He plans to study Neuroscience and Chinese and hopes to attend medical school. He has been participating in Science Olympiad since 10th grade and has participated in the Bridge event, forestry, and botany. In his free time, he goes on hikes, reads, and lifts weights. Ryan is excited to help Dartmouth SciOly inspire high schoolers to pursue science.
YUNFEI ZHENG
Website Developer
Yunfei Zheng '27 is a Computer Science major from South Windsor, Connecticut. In high school, Yunfei was part of the Connecticut team that competed in the 2022 and 2023 Science Olympiad National Tournaments, in events such as Codebusters, Fermi Questions, Experimental Design, and Wifi Lab. Yunfei joined the Dartmouth Science Olympiad team to give back to the community. Yunfei has worked on creating the website and currently helps with updates and maintenance.
This website was created and is maintained by Yunfei Zheng '27 and Nico Bezzerides '27.