May 21, 2008 > Local school places 2nd in National Ocean Sciences Bowl Local school places 2nd in National Ocean Sciences Bowl Submitted By Nicole Steward Mission San Jose High School's Ocean Sciences Bowl Team won 2nd place in the annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl Competition held in Seward, Alaska. Twenty-five student teams from Hawaii to Florida to Maine and Alaska participated in the competition. Seward provided students an opportunity to observe the effects of global warming first hand and see marine animals not found anywhere else in the United States. The team was composed of two sophomores; Joy Chen and Youngjun Na, and three juniors; Vivian Chou, Debra Yen and Minjian (Raymond) Wang. Mr. Norman Howell, their coach, described them as his "Miracle Team" due to the lack of any seniors found on all other teams. "These students have demonstrated a unique drive to learn and self-study," Mr. Howell said, "With no classes in Oceanography or Marine Biology available to them they took it upon themselves to study textbooks, journal articles and any other source of information on the oceans." Mr. Howell added that their knowledge coupled with quick recall and rapid buzzer response led to their victory. As part of their prize, they have been awarded an all expense paid, nine-day exploratory trip to Costa Rica this summer.