Andre Thu shines with honourable mention at Math Olympiad in Mexico

WESTERN BUREAU:

Fourteen-year-old Grade 10 Cornwall College student Andre Thu has always focused on academic excellence, particularly in mathematics, and that focus recently resulted in him receiving an honourable mention when he represented Jamaica at the 28th Central American and Caribbean Mathematical Olympiad in Mexico.

The competition, held from August 7 to 14, saw Jamaica as the only English-speaking country among 13 participating nations whose representatives primarily spoke Spanish.

“The Math Olympiad took place in the summer, and we practiced over the month of June and July before the competition. I was part of Jamaica’s national Math Olympiad competition, and they take competitors from that area and select them to participate internationally based on their strengths and talents,” said Thu, a resident of Montego Bay who aspires to become a software engineer.

“I got an honourable mention for getting full marks on one of the questions, although I was also two points off from getting the bronze medal in the international competition. It did not really make me feel happy, but I did better than I thought I actually did,” the soft-spoken Thu added. “My school and my parents were supportive, and we are still happy we came back with something, which is my award for honourable mention.”

Thu noted that his time in Mexico gave him an opportunity to experience a culture different from what he is used to in Jamaica.

“It was a very unique experience, meeting a lot of new people, and Mexico is quite an interesting place. It was also very interesting because Jamaica was the only English-speaking country and all the other countries speak Spanish, so we had a specialised translator so we could understand what was being said in Spanish,” said Thu.

“They also took us to various places in Mexico, such as a water park and a restaurant, and there were many events to accommodate us during the time when they were marking our papers.”

His mother, Nyo Aye, told The Gleaner that her son’s interest in mathematics started when he was in Grade 4 and only grew from there.

“From grade four, Andre was very interested in mathematics, and sometimes he would come with his own math formulas, saying, ‘Mummy, we can solve this problem another way, and if we use that formula, it would be easier.’ He was always thinking about how to solve questions,” said Aye.

“We made sure he got the times table, so from grade one, he got the times table up to times 12. When he was in grade five, the school principal trained for him to be in the Math Olympiad, and he got fourth place,” Aye explained. “When he was about to go to high school, we had a math tutor for him. He had five sessions every week in the summer, and when he was in grade seven, he came first in the Math Olympiad.”

The International Math Olympiad, which was launched in Romania in 1959, is aimed at enabling the world’s brightest and most talented high school students to demonstrate their mathematical ability, while also promoting a wider appreciation of mathematics.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com