A N N U A L S C I E N C E F A I R
A DAY IN THE LIFE
OF A DCMS
SCIENCE FAIR
JUDGE
By Preeti Malladi, MD
6:50 AM – Brrring, Brrring. Snooze
button. Sleeping in on a weekend is one of
my favorite things.
7:00 AM – My eyes pop open. It’s
Science Fair day! I’ve judged the Dallas
Regional Science Fair for the last few
years, and I am addicted! My inner
nerd revels in interacting with my geeky
colleagues, encouraging and guiding the
bubbling energy of young scientific minds,
and learning about innovative discoveries.
I jump out of bed, beeline to the bathroom,
brush, shower, throw on a suit, drink a
glass of milk and head out the door.
7:40 AM – Ugh… traffic! Fair Park, the
site of the yearly event, is only four miles
away – shouldn’t take too long. Of course,
I forgot the severe traffic bottleneck that
ensues from the congregation of hundreds
of anxious parents/family with their eager
students rushing to set up. Fortunately, it’s
not raining like last year!
8:15 AM – Still in traffic!
8:25 AM – Streams of students with
posters hasten into the hall. I check in
at the judges’ station and pick up my
packet of materials. A yummy spread of
breakfast treats for the judges catches
my eye, so I make a heaped plate for
myself. Dr. Matt Sloan, a fellow judge (and
the most humorous!), is already at our
designated DCMS table. Dr. Archana Rao,
20 DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • June 2020
Judges left to right:
Matt Sloan, MD;
Preeti Malladi, MD;
Archana Rao, MD