# Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

It is great that the AMS is able to conduct this competition which values and encourages mathematical talent. While sports are usually celebrated, it is wonderful that students interested in mathematics can also be encouraged. I sincerely hope that many more students gain the opportunity to participate in this competition.

# Who Wants to Be a Mathematician at Providence College

"Thanks so much. That was my first time attending the competition, and it was so impressive...the AMS puts on a fun and extremely well-run event. Our kids were great yesterday; I really liked that picture [of Jun near the bottom of the page], as well."

"The kids had a great time."

"It WAS fun! Tough creative problems, as usual."

John Perino, a junior at Westerly High School, was the big winner when Who Wants to Be a Mathematician celebrated Mathematics Awareness Month at Providence College on April 14. John won $3,000 from the AMS and a TI-Nspire CX graphing calculator from Texas Instruments. About 250 people, mostly students enthusiastically supporting their classmates on stage, came out and cheered on the 10 contestants. Contestants with their certificates from Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed. Front, left to right: Kitty Xu, The Prout School, Ava Jiang, The Wheeler School, Giorgina Giampaolo, The Lincoln School, Cassandra Estrella, Cumberland High School, and Monica Barbosa, East Providence High School. Back, left to right: Kevin Sanita, Warwick Veterans Memorial High School, Aurora Luo, St. Mary Academy - Bay View, Michael Lamontagne, Barrington High School, John Perino, Westerly High School, and Jun Quin, East Greenwich High School Here are videos from the games, starting with Frank Ford of the Providence College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science welcoming the crowd: Created with flickr slideshow. Short descriptions of the games:  Michael answered all of the first four questions correctly in game one and so held the lead at the halfway point in that game. Jun moved into first place on the next question and held that position for the rest of the game. This earned Jun$500 and a TI-Nspire CX. In game two, John held the lead for the entire game, which earned him the same first-place cash and caclulator that Jun had won as well as a spot in the Square-Off Round against Jun.

 In the Square-Off Round, each contestant was wrong on his first choice, but then John singaled in with the correct answer to earn another $500 and a chance at the$2,000 Bonus Question--a geometry question involving medians of triangles. John answered correctly to win another $2,000 and bring his total for the morning to$3,000.

 Above: John and his teacher, Chris Hamre. Left: Jun and his East Greenwich classmates.

Here are all the prizes and cash won by the contestants:

• TI-Nspire CX graphing caclulator from Texas Instruments and $3,000 from the AMS: John Perino, Westerly High School • TI-Nspire CX graphing calculator from Texas Instruments and$500 from the AMS: Jun Qin, East Greenwich High School
• Maple 2015 from Maplesoft: Michael Lamontagne, Barrington High School and Kevin Sanita, Warwick Veterans Memorial High School
• Calculus with Early Transcendentals by Anton, Bivens and Davis from John Wiley and Sons: Monica Barbosa, East Providence High School and Ava Jiang, The Wheeler School
• Mathematics Everywhere from the AMS: Aurora Luo, St. Mary Academy - Bay View and Kitty Xu, The Prout School
• What's Happening in the Mathematical Sciences, Vol. 9 from the AMS: Cassandra Estrella, Cumberland High School and Giorgina Giampaolo, The Lincoln School

Thanks very much to our sponsors: Maplesoft, the Who Wants to Be a Mathematician technology sponsor, Texas Instruments, and John Wiley and Sons. Thanks also to Frank Ford and Lynne DeMasi of the Providence College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, who arranged everything for the game and made everyone feel welcome.

Video by Annette Emerson (AMS Public Awareness Office). Photos by Annette Emerson and Samantha Faria (also AMS Public Awareness Office). Text by Mike Breen.

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