WINDSOR JUNCTION: A Windsor Junction girl’s good fortune went her way during the Halifax Brain Bee, coming away with the win unexpectedly.
Alyanna Delos Reyes of Windsor Junction said she was competing in Halifax Brain Bee 2022, held before the school year ended in June, just for the experience and pure curiosity in neuroscience. The Halifax Brain Bee event also offered lab tours at the end, so she was more excited about that.
“I was surprised and really happy when they announced my name as the winner because all the studying and all the time that I dedicated to it was all worth it,” she said in a recent interview after Lockview High notified us of her success.
The win meant the current Grade 11 student (she did the Brain Bee as a Grade 10 student) went on to represent Halifax at the Canadian National Brain Bee 2022. She came away from that as the second-place finisher in the country.
She was asked how she was feeling at the Canadian National Brain Bee. She said it was the same as in Halifax. Only more students were competing.
“There were a lot more students that I was competing against and there was more pressure since I know that they already won in their own province,’ said Delos Reyes. “I also struggled in the third part of the competition so I didn’t really think that I would be in the top 3.
“I was really grateful and happy about winning second place since I knew that the winner have a very great chance to win the International Brain Bee 2022, and she did.”
Delos Reyes was proud of her result.
“It was such an amazing achievement for me, and it is something that I, for sure, will always remember and be proud of,” she said.
The second and third place results at the Halifax Brain Bee were:
2nd place – Shabad Kaur from Halifax West High School
3rd place – Linda Jin from King’s-Edgehill School
The Canadian National Brain Bee 2022 was virtual, but it was still a lot of fun, said Delos Reyes.
“There were neuroscience students that shared their interest in neuroscience and why they love studying it and other professors/doctors that also taught us some cool neuroscience facts,” she said.
“There was a professor from B.C. that actually presented and showed us the anatomy of the human brain.
“These fun activities took our minds off the stressful and nerve-racking competition.”
She said she has always been fascinated by how our brain and body work together.
“I find it amazing how different parts of your brain controls different processes and perform different actions that can affect you significantly,” said Delos Reyes. “I recognized how our brain and nervous system are very important and critical that’s why I have been very interested in all kinds of neuroscience research.
“I would love to have a career in neuroscience one day because there is still a lot of ground-breaking knowledge to uncover.
“I believe that learning more about the brain and neuroscience, in general, can help a lot of people around the world in the near future.”
