By Abby Drake
Staff Writer

Raghu Achukola is 14 and has already accomplished more than half of the Coppell High School senior class.

“I do not regret skipping ahead so many grades, it just happened and I just kept learning,” Achukola said.

At 10, Achukola found his passion for chemistry during his freshman and sophomore year with. Chemistry Sally Urquhart.

“I knew by his sophomore year that he had a lot of talent and that he is good at chemistry,” Urquhart said.

Achukola’s most recent accomplishment is his success in the National Chemistry Olympiad were he scored high enough to advance to the next round.

The National Chemistry Olympiad is a multi-leveled competition that was created to help encourage growth in high school chemistry.  The program takes some of the nation’s brightest students to compete against each other in different chemistry assignments. As the program progresses, students with the lowest scores are cut and the rest advance on— ultimately dwindling down to four students who will represent the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad competition.

The goals of the Olympiad are to promote excellence in chemistry, to recognize and challenge outstanding students, and to foster growth for new and aspiring chemists.

In order to be involved each participant must be a high school student and must be a citizen of the U.S.

The top sponsor of the Olympiad is U.S. Air Force Academy who put on an annual two-week summer camp for qualifying students. Achukola’s scores are high enough for him to win a spot at this prestigious camp.

Achukola passed through the local round of the Olympiad with ease and takes on the next level April 16.  The national level is a more difficult that the previous test because it is made up of three separate parts: multiple choice, free response and a lab practical.

After the second test, Achukola hopes to be one of the top 20 students chosen to attend the summer camp and further his chance to be a part of the U.S team that will compete in Turkey against over 50 other counties.

“The camp is really hard to get into, so I hope to at least earn one of the honors given to the top 150 students,” Achukola said.

Acting as his mentor, Urquhart has helped Achukola to study and learn different strategies for the test. Made of college level questions, the test is difficult to study for and very unpredictable.

“I am very proud of how far he has gotten so far,” Urquhart said. “The test is very hard and he is up against some of the most talented students, but I still think that he has an excellent chance for the camp.”

Although Achukola has a passion and talent for chemistry, he still has a lot of work to do to make sure he is ready for the test and his future.

Next fall, Achukola is deciding between Cornell University and the University of Michigan where he will study scientific research.

“I love science and math, but I want to make sure that I go to a school that has a large diversity,” Achukola said.

Aside from his talent in science Achukola has a strong ability in math, which compliments his advancements in school and the Olympiad.

“He can do complicated math stuff in his head without a calculator better than anyone I have ever seen,” calculus teacher Jan Bourg said.

Achukola’s enthusiasm and ability with science and math is impressive and his success with the Olympiad has a gotten him a lot of attention.  CHS has a wide array of talent through the halls, including the 14-year-old chemistry genius.

“Raghu is talented in a lot of areas and he will take advantage of every academic opportunity that comes his way,” Urquhart said.