McLean student scores victory at national Math Olympiad

  • 2018-07-19
A student of BASIS Independent McLean, Sam Wang, is among 11 U.S. Junior Mathematical Olympiad winners.

Wang took part in the Mathematical Competitions held by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) along with 300,000 other youngsters across the country. Based on his performance in the earlier competitions, Wang was invited to compete in the final and highest of the MAA’s invitational exams – the Mathematical Olympiads.

Often, extraordinary accomplishments by students warrant a call to a banner printing service, and many might argue that if anyone deserves a banner touting his accomplishments, it would be Wang.

Wang competed in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad test, along with kids in grade 10 and below. Only a seventh grader, he took the test, comprising six problems to be worked in nine hours over two days back-to-back. Students were required show their work with most problems necessitating several pages of justification. Grading was done by consummate mathematicians.

One of the members of the BASIS Independent McLean’s math department, Dr. Ryan Grove was quoted by insideNoVa.com as saying:

“This is a tremendous mathematical accomplishment for Sam, but his true strengths lie in his strong work ethic, respectfulness and eagerness to learn.”

In addition to his success at the MAA, Wang also did well for his team on the Virginia MATHCOUNTS that was held this past spring in Washington, D.C.