Diligently solving math equations, two students won the inaugural statewide Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Program math challenge.
Timothy Johnson and Fernando Reyes were recognized as first and second in their region.
The MESA math challenge includes a test based on the American Mathematical Association of two-year Colleges. More than 19 MESA programs and 183 individuals participated.
The challenge is composed of 20 questions and students must complete the challenge in one hour.
“I was fortunate enough to almost complete the entire test, I was unable to finish two problems. The problems were challenging but in the end, I felt confident that I did the best I could,” Reyes, 26, engineering major, said.
“The math contest was run by the statewide MESA program, so anyone in MESA was eligible to compete. The highest level of math on the test was pre-calculus, but the questions were chosen to be much harder than normal class problems,” Timothy Johnson, mathematics major, said.
The math challenge took place on campus and was administered by Arturo Hernandez, MESA director. Hernandez informed those students who enjoyed math and could possibly help EC in the rankings.
Johnson said during the math challenge students felt comfortable surrounded by their peers, one student prepared for the challenge extensively.
“I went pretty crazy studying. I ordered a couple of books from, the artofproblemsolving.com. They make books on various topics for math terms. That way, I was used to answering tricky questions,” Johnson said.
On the other hand, another student wasn’t as familiar with the idea of the challenge.
“I only knew about the challenge two days before participating. I was able to study a total of six hours in those two days,” Reyes said.
“I had forgotten all about the challenge due to my internship at JPL and classes. Weeks later, at the MESA Center, Arturo informed me that EC ranked first and second, and that the two students to accomplish this, were Timothy and me,” Reyes said.
“For me, winning the contest was a great achievement. I have transferred to CalTech this fall, and plan to compete in the Putnam contest,” Johnson said.
“I was excited about the news and shocked that I had scored so high. It is another accomplishment that I am able to walk away with from EC and MESA, which treated me well and gave me the opportunities to further my success,” Reyes said.