Meet with National Mathematics Contest 2012-2013's Champion
The results of the National contests have come out. Hanoi-Amsterdam have won 71/129 awards of Hanoi with 9 first, 23 second, 28 third and 9 consolation prizes. Out of the amazing results, team Mathematics have proudly claimed 7 awards and the first prize went to Nguyen Tu Anh (T1 10-13), who achieved an exceptionally high score of 29.
Interviewer: How does it feel like to have achieved the first prize and to be the pride of your school and family?
Tu Anh: When I knew the results I was surprised because I only expected a second prize; hence, I never thought I would reach the first place. I’m very happy that all my hard work has paid off.
Interviewer: What would you say about your passion for Maths?
Tu Anh: Initially I specialised in Maths because my father is a Maths teacher, but gradually I just feel engrossed in it and Maths has become my passion. It is quite a "rigid", "timid" subject to many students, but in my opinion, Maths has its own beauty and it’s certainly not boring at all.
Interviewer: Achieving such award, you must have had some personal useful tips for studying Maths, so could you share with us some of them?
Tu Anh: I don’t have any special tips. After studying at school I usually go on the internet to search for useful documents and do a lot of exercises to enhance my knowledge. My father is a Maths teacher so we have a lot of Maths reference books at home, which is a great advantage for me. Also, when doing a Maths exercise, you must understand it thoroughly and maybe connect it with other similar ones so that you can figure out a common method to solve all of them, which will also help you remember the exercises and how to solve them better. Besides, when I have some free time, I listen to music or watch TV to alleviate the pressure.
Interviewer: During the time you were in the national Mathematics team, did you feel the “heat” from other opponents? What was it to you, a motivation or pressure?
Tu Anh: Well during that time I felt very comfortable, my friends in the team were really unitive. After having finished tiring lessons in the class, we would play football and relax ourselves. When there was a difficult or an interesting exercise we would discuss it together. Although there was rivalry, it was actually a motivation for all of us to try even harder.
Tu Anh (in the middle, in black coat) with the Maths team
Interviewer: The new year is coming soon; do you want to send some wishes or some advice to students who are passionate about Maths in particular and all the other students in general?
Tu Anh: The new year is coming, I wish all the students a good school year, and I wish all my friends success in the university entrance exams, which are coming shortly, and I wish those who are interested in Maths will always stay impassioned about the subject and never stop studying and improving their knowledge.
Thank you very much for this interview. We wish you a happy new year and we hope that you will achieve even more success both in your study and in life.
Author: Hoàng Dũng (Sử 11-14)- Mỹ Linh (Văn 12-15)
Translator: Hoàng Thanh Thảo (A1 11-14)