Over the last couple of years, we have been slowly transitioning to new leadership for the Oklahoma Science Olympiad (OKSciOly). With the conclusion of the 2025 Science Olympiad competitions, that transition process is complete and Dr. Allyson Fenwick and Dr. Amy Tankersley have assumed the roles as directors of OKSciOly. Allyson has been concentrating on event support and recruiting/managing/maintaining the corps of Event Supervisors and Amy has concerned her efforts on membership, teams, and compliance. Together they will be able to provide the training and logistics to continue and expand OKSciOly.
Allyson earned a Ph.D, in Conservation Biology for the University of Central Florida. Her research concerned the evolutionary relationships of pit vipers. She is currently conducting research targeting the resident population of Mediterranean Geckoes on the UCO campus. She is also the Co-PI for the NSF-funded Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, “Master teachers conducting STEM practices and action research”. She is a Science Olympiad Alumnus having been a part of the program in her native Wisconsin.
Amy is from Bethany, OK and taught several years in the Putnam City school district before pursuing her Ph.D. in STEM education at the University of Nebraska. She is the Science Curriculum Coordinator for Putnam City Schools and is the current President of the Oklahoma Science Teaching Association. While a graduate student at UCO, Amy coordinated the Central Oklahoma Science Fair under the direction of Dr. Beth Allan and worked with the first OKSciOly State Tournaments held on the UCO campus.
After 25 years with the Oklahoma Science Olympiad, I am stepping back to (hopefully) be a helper to Amy and Allyson behind the scenes, doing things such as setting up scilympiad for the 2026 season and helping with any mundane, time-sucking task that might not be the best use of their time and talent. As I stated at the state tournament awards presentation, leading OKSciOly has been the opportunity of a lifetime. Fern Melton has been there every step of the way, lettering wristbands, checking in teams, providing refreshments and meals for Event Supervisors, organizing t-shirts…. The list of her contributions is long and I am forever grateful.
Dr. Beth Allan is the other person without whom OKSciOly would not exist. She was the host of the state tournament, coordinating space and personnel for many years before facilitating the process to make the Oklahoma Science Olympiad a program of the UCO College of Mathematics and Science. The Coordinator of UCO’s Secondary Science Education program, she is a past President of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) and the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA).
Finally, a big thank you to all of the hundreds of Coaches, Event Supervisors, parents and adult volunteers who have contributed their time and talent to the Science Olympiad an Oklahoma over the years. And of course, thank you to the thousands of Oklahoma students who have been a part of the Science Olympiad during the last 25 years. If you are competing, you are learning and all of you can proudly claim the title of Science Olympiad Alumnus.
Bob Melton