My Math Journey

Ever since I was just a little girl, I’ve always had a passion for math, even when I faced challenges. In elementary school, there was a gifted and talented Gateway program, but despite being identified as gifted, I was not accepted. Of course, this frustrated me, but more than anything else, it motivated me to persist and stay resilient in everything I did. This mindset and my enjoyment of math helped me pass the entrance exam in 5th grade, to get into the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program, where I began the curriculum in 6th grade. This program taught me to love math for its beauty, and I accelerated further in math, having now learned Algebra I and II, Geometry, Precalculus, and Calculus all in my middle school years.

Also in elementary school, I began participating in competition math. In 5th grade, I walked away with a silver medal at national MathCON and placed first in Minnesota Mathmasters. These results helped me prove to students in the Gateway program that I was even better than them, boosting my confidence.

During my middle school years is when I really became endorsed in math, but also the time when I became exposed to the challenges of being a woman in STEM.

In 6th grade, I joined the MATHCOUNTS club. In a room with almost 20 students, I was one of only two girls. Most of the boys were so loud and annoying, always acting immature. As if that was enough, they all looked down upon me, acting like I was nothing compared to them and meaningless to the club, giving me flashbacks to elementary school. Well, it just so happened that both the other girl and I made the four-person team, shocking everybody.

Unfortunately, the rest of that 6th grade year was not my best work. Although our team placed first in the Chapter round and advanced to State, the State round was canceled the day before the competition due to COVID-19. The next year in 7th grade, I got a perfect score in the Chapter round and placed 5th in Chapter Invitational, but due to a huge part of my lack of motivation from the rising pandemic and many distractions, I scored horribly in State. I knew that I couldn’t afford to keep this up, so I had to make 8th grade a special year. That year, I set a goal to make National MATHCOUNTS, no matter how impossible it seemed.

In 8th grade, I started with more AMC prep, and by more, I mean hours upon hours of hard work whenever I could. This led me to make AIME, which was also one of my goals in middle school. For MATHCOUNTS, I was the captain of my team, and I took first place individually for both in-person and online Chapter rounds, with my team in first as well. In preparation for State, I spent countless hours thinking about difficult problems. State round was ever so memorable. I placed 5th, also known as the alternate to the National team. The news first came in a huge wave of emotions, because all of my hard work ended this way, and I had let down so many people who believed in me. In reality, I only missed Nationals by one point, but that one point will never be forgotten. To make things worse, if I hadn’t made any stupid mistakes, I could’ve placed first. But all of this eventually settled in, as there wasn’t any way to change the past. I learned that the hard way. Still, my experience was more than worth it, and I grew so much from where I began. Now my goal is to qualify for JMO along with Math Prize for Girls, and eventually MOP.

In retrospect, I wish that I had more women in STEM that I could look up to and aspire to be so that I wouldn’t need to have a much higher level of motivation than others. But now that I think about it, this has helped me improve myself and find the real me who loves math enough to keep doing it, despite what others said or did. Now that I’ve gone through and experienced so much, I have been working hard to help others in the world. Something that I truly enjoy is teaching math, and I’ve done that in a few ways. First, I was accepted into the Daily Challenge with Po-Shen Loh team, where I have taught as a teaching assistant for multiple courses. This experience has not only improved my teaching but also opened my eyes and brought me many friendships. In addition, I also volunteered as a TA for a local math camp. My math talent has helped me quickly learn Physics and Computer Programming, which I will also use to start free tutoring for kids through my own website. To show my passion for women in STEM, I participated in the Mathandai4girls contest, and placed 4th individually, which I am incredibly proud about. I hope that my experiences will inspire girls to explore and fall in love with math and other fields of STEM. My math journey hasn’t been easy, but throughout the ups and downs, I’ve gained so much knowledge and experience. Actually, what I’ve experienced is just part of the early stages of my journey, and I will continue to grow.