Students in various math levels achieved great honors through their participation in the HiMCM competition which took place from Nov. 31-Oct. 31. Competition finalists include Linus Chen, Rae Holcomb, Kevin Li and Adonis Lu.

A total of 671 teams competed, each team consisting of no more than four people.This year, there was one finalist team, four meritorious teams, six honorable mention teams and seven successful participant teams. Woodbridge had a total of 18 teams participate in the HiMCM competition, in comparison to University High’s 11 teams.

HiMCM is an international competition that allows students to compete using their problem-solving and writing skills. Rather than being tested only on simple concepts learned in school, this competition allows participants to display their skills in logical thinking and problem solving. The competition goes on for a consecutive 36-hour period of only math.

Students who are currently in pre-calculus or above were highly motivated to participate in this competition, even without great incentive or reward. Many students were encouraged by the the thought of wanting to experience participating in a challenging competition.

When asked about how he encouraged students to take part in the HiMCM competition, math teacher David Gesk responded by saying, “I just kind of put it out there, and the students jumped on it.”

Students were able to learn many skills besides just solving a math problem. They were also required to utilize time management skills, since this was a timed competition.

“I would definitely participate in this competition again. If there is one thing I would do differently, it’s that I would want to pace myself better and try to be more focused, so that hopefully I can do even better next time,” sophomore participant Kanika Ahluwalia said.

Out of all of the participants in this competition, 1 percent of the students were finalists, 22 percent were meritorious, 36 percent of the students received an honorable mention and 38 percent of the students were successful participants.

“It really tested how well we could work together as a team and include everyone’s ideas, so it helped us voice our opinions and offer constructive criticism,” sophomore and meritorious team member Emily Ha said.