BY MICHAEL BENAVIDES
Staff Writer
An eighth grade student from the Holmdel Township School District has completed a hat trick in the field of mathematics.
Brian Liu, 13, who attends the William R. Satz Intermediate School, claimed first place in the state MATHCOUNTS competition and will represent New Jersey for the third consecutive year at the National Competition that will be held in Orlando, Fla., from May 13 through May 16.
“I feel very excited to have won the MATHCOUNTS (state) competition, however while it was my third time making it to nationals, it is only the second time representing (Wiliam R.) Satz,” Brian said.
“I made was it in sixth grade in 2015 when I was in the Marlboro Memorial Middle School in Morganville,” Brian said.
“I also feel excited to be able to represent Satz at Orlando this year. I expect that it will be similar to last year in that I will be able to meet more people like me who also like math,” Brian said.
In addition to Brian’s outstanding achievement in the MATHCOUNTS program, he has also excelled in competitions sponsored by the Continental Mathematics League (CML) this year, where like his peers Samuel Hampel and Winston Li, he earned perfect scores in all five of the CML meets this year.
MATHCOUNTS and CML organizer and William R. Satz Mathematics teacher Marian Amitrani said she is thrilled at the accomplishments of these students.
“I think that the key to my success is that I enjoy math and therefore spend a lot of time on it,” Brian said.
Brian said he may pursue a future career in the field of mathematics.
“I am not sure what I plan to do in the future, but I’m sure it will have to do with math,” Brian said.
According to the organization’s website, MATHCOUNTS “provides engaging math programs to U.S. middle school students of all ability levels in order to build confidence and improve attitudes towards math and problem solving.”
“MATHCOUNTS provides students with the kinds of experiences that foster growth and transcend fear to lay a foundation for future success,” according to the website
Citing one of the district’s goals for the year, Supervisor of Math and Science Alicia Killean suggested that these types of academic competitions and the success of the district’s students in them provide a special kind of engagement, challenge and excitement for all of our students.
“Students throughout the school and community excitedly follow these and all of the school’s ‘Mathletes’ and take great Holmdel pride in their success,” Killean added.
Killean indicated that student passion for and prowess in mathematics recently led the district to add to its offerings in mathematics, extending the study of it through to Multi-variable Calculus.