Taras Sekh hasn’t missed one chemistry contest since the 8th grade. Theoretical and practical rounds of such competitions and then an appeal are a thrilling intellectual sport for the goal-oriented young man from Lviv. His greatest achievement so far is a silver merit award at the International Chemistry Olympiad 2017 held in Thailand. The competition attracted 300 students from 72 countries. Ukraine won three silver merit awards and one bronze at the event. On returning home, Taras entered the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Now a student in its chemistry faculty, the 18-year old Sekh sees himself a scientist in the future.
“Once, on St. Nicholas Day, I got a My First Chemistry Kit as a present. It contained different chemical experiments that could be performed with specific items and chemical agents. I did not even understand then, what was happening in the test tube, when I was pouring substances and it changed the color. But I was truly amazed by that.
At the initial stages, the most important thing is not to teach or make you read some books, but to excite the curiosity of a child or a teenager.
When I went to study at the Lviv Physics and Mathematics Lyceum, I first chose physics and mathematics as my major. However, physics seemed to me quite boring, unlike chemistry. To transfer to the chemistry and biology department without taking exams I needed to win at the oblast’s Olympiad. Then, in the 8th grade, it became the whole point of my existence. I passed all three rounds and was very happy to get a 3rd merit diploma. That was essentially my first achievement in chemistry.
Then followed numerous national Olympiads and competitions, online Olympiads, and participation in the International Mendeleev Olympiad in Moscow. In the 11th grade, my goal was to participate in the International Chemistry Olympiad that was held in Thailand. That selection was the biggest challenge for me.
It was very difficult to adapt to the local climate. It was the rainy season, humidity was high and it was difficult to breathe. During the first days, we went on excursions around different historical sites.
First we had the practical round, and then the theoretical one. During the practical round, you had to do everything very fast, sometimes simultaneously. We had three tasks and I performed one throughout the round and alternated between the other two. I distributed my time myself. That’s very important at an Olympiad.
The gap between the participants in such events is very small and every mistake is counted. I managed to perform well and was very happy to get the silver merit award.
In my experience, one thing has always worked: Whenever I didn’t expect to get high results, that’s exactly what I got. But when I thought too much about the result, I performed worse than I expected.
I once came back from the science Olympiad disappointed and the most I expected to hear was: “You should have gotten a better result.” Instead, my teacher said: “Don’t worry. Prepare for the next one!” And it worked. I said: “Why feel sorry for myself? Why want others to feel sorry for you?” And I went on to prepare for the next competition.
Talent accounts for only a very small part of success. The most important thing is to work on your own abilities and develop your own skills.
During the theoretical round, I’m usually totally absorbed: I see nothing except for chemistry, I can sit for hours solving tasks and never get up or leave the class.
I’d say my success formula is as follows: If you like a given subject, you need to work on it diligently. You have to stay focused on pursuing your goals, and disregard any failures. All the while, don’t forget about your own life, health and emotions. Maintain relations with friends, communicate, and share with them. You need to have other passions, a hobby you do from time to time. For me it was swimming and walking in the fresh air. A job that confines you is the worst thing that can happen.
If a person sits for 12 hours studying books and does nothing else, this person will not achieve what they desire.
I dream of living on the shore of some beautiful lake and also achieve positive results in science and continue to self-improve.
Chemistry’s potential is incredible, particularly with regard to organic chemistry. Chemistry provides a push for new technologies. Chemistry is also used to develop medicines for diseases that are currently untreatable. I would like this science to develop, including in Ukraine.”
