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![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
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![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
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Math Club prepares to take last team competition of school year
Harker math club poses outside after taking a math contest. The team will be taking the Purple Comet! Math Meet contest on April 14 and 20.
April 13, 2016
Harker math club members will take the Purple Comet! Math Meet contest on campus between on April 14 and April 20.
“It is free [and] online, so as far as accessibility goes, any school anywhere can participate so it opens up not just to U.S. schools but international schools,” math club advisor Anu Aiyer said.
The Purple Comet! Math Meet is an international online team tournament that takes place annually for middle and high school students. Teams consisting of one to six members may register and take the contest any time from April 12 to April 22. The set of problems for high school students ranges in difficulty and is composed of 30 problems that students must complete in 90 minutes. Problems include advanced algebra, geometry, combinatorics, probability, trigonometry, conic sections, functions and computer science related problems.
“I’ve tried taking Purple Comet in the past, and all the problems there are all really challenging and insightful in the end, so I think it is a great experience,” Jimmy Lin (10) said. “It allows us to collaborate with members on the team so we get multiple perspectives on a problem.”
There are three different award categories: one for teams consisting of students from the same large school, another for students from the same small school, which applies to Harker, and one for students from different schools. Harker will field two teams, but has not decided on the specific members of each team yet.
In 2014, the team, with Patrick Lin (‘15), Suzy Lou (‘15), Vikram Sundar (‘14), Ashwath Thirumalai (15’), Allison Wang (12), and Richard Yi (12), won 1st place with a perfect score, while another team consisting of Kai-Siang Ang (11), Lawrence Li (11), Alex Pei (15’), Peter Wu (11) and David Zhu (11), placed ffth.
The Purple Comet! Math Meet is also the last team competition of the year, and for most club members, will be their last overall contest.
“This year, Harker did much better as a whole at math competitions as compared to last year,” math club officer Misha Ivkov (11) said. “We came into this year with high expectations, and managed to achieve most of the goals we set out.”
Winning teams will be posted on the contest website after contest’s ten day window, and will receive printable certificates via email.
Most math club members will be done for the rest of the year, but Swapnil Garg (10), Kai-Siang Ang (11), David Zhu (10) and Richard Yi (12) qualified for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), a contest that will span over two days, and will be taking it next week.
“I am excited to participate in USAMO as it is one of the most prestigious math competitions in the nation, and I hope to do well enough to make the [Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program],” Swapnil said. “MOP is a three week camp in June and all the top 50 or so participants of USAMO get invited.”
