Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Soo Young "Harry" Park '18 sure isn't shy about challenging his math skills.
For the third year in a row, Harry voluntarily took the American Mathematics Competition, one of the most challenging math exams offered to high school students in the country. And, most impressively, Harry earned a perfect score and advanced to the second round of the national competition.
"It's really fun," said Harry, referring to taking the AMC. "It's a rare opportunity to zone in (on a topic) for 75 minutes. I rarely do that. It's also a chance to see how good I am in math, to see if I improved or didn't improve. And, since it's competition, sharing the experience with other kids is always fun. I have a lot of friends who participate in this competition. If I don't take the exam it's hard for me to join the conversation."
Harry's perfect score merits plenty on conversation. He was among the 5-percent of students nationwide to advance to the second round, which is called the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. He took that exam March 21 and will receive his results in early April. He hopes to move onto the third round, as he did last year as one of only 300 students in the country.
"Harry Park has again shown his hard work in and passion for math showed through with a glowing score in this year's AMC 12 math competition," said Mathematics Department Chair Mark Fischer, who is also Harry's math teacher. "His score earned him the opportunity to again participate in the second round of the competition. I am very impressed with what Harry has accomplished so far in the mathematics field of study."