Congratulations to three Trailblazers from Sierra Canyon's Upper School Math Team who traveled to Pittsburgh for the second annual Carnegie Mellon Women's Math Competition.
In October, young women from across the country—and internationally—converged on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for mathematics, teamwork, networking, and in the spirit of competition. Katie A. '24, Yihan C. '27, and Miranda L. '25 represented Sierra Canyon at the contest and competed in individual and team components. As a team, they earned 2nd place in the Market Making Challenge and 11th place in the Guts Round. Miranda was a mere three points shy of a top-10 finish in the individual's category. Katie said, "It was neat to see so many girls competing at this level."
Throughout the trip, these fierce competitors learned the importance of teamwork and how to adjust strategies mid-contest. After each round, Trailblazers debated solutions, shared insights, and taught each other problem-solving techniques. The Sierra Canyon Math Team also met and worked with teams from different schools and countries, sharing their experiences as females in math and how they trained and practiced in preparation for events like this. For example, Miranda, Katie, and Yihan teamed up with a group from Canada for the Estimathon, a competition challenging teams to strategize for estimating large—or extremely small—numbers. Miranda remarked that getting to know them and hearing about their experiences at math competitions was great. Before the event ended, sponsors organized events and talks specifically designed for young women entering careers in mathematics, showcasing the opportunities and options available to them. "It was a meaningful and unforgettable experience," Yihan said.
The day before the contest, the Team enjoyed a special reunion on the CMU campus with former Sierra Canyon Math Team captain Wendy W. '23. Katie, Miranda, and Yihan shadowed Wendy and one of her classmates at school for the day, attending two advanced college-level lectures with well-known professors and exploring the campus during a guided tour. During a Putnam Seminar lecture taught by Prof. Po-Shen Loh, the former coach of the USA Math Olympiad team (2013–2023), Sierra Canyon students learned a proof that the limit of the ratios of terms in the Fibonacci sequence is the golden ratio, a well-known number in art and mathematics. The Concept and Proof lecture also delved into the prime number theorem and talked about the real-life application of math in computer science and data protection. It was an incredible experience for our young mathematicians to see what college life is like for a math major.
Sierra Canyon has seen three former Math Team captains matriculate to Carnegie Mellon, all pursuing mathematics as their major. Bobby Z. '17 recently graduated and now applies his mathematics knowledge to software engineering in the business world. Youbin C. '21 is currently a senior studying Discrete Mathematics and Logic. Wendy, who began her studies this semester and completed her first midterms last week, was interviewed by Miranda during her visit. Wendy reports that working on the Math Team at Sierra Canyon has been highly beneficial in college. She felt well prepared and even tested out of a challenging course required for math majors. Wendy said the test resembled the math competitions she trained for with the Team and Coach Tillman throughout her time at the Upper School. Wendy still works in the math competition world by preparing for the infamous Putnam Exam, and she hopes to write problems for future Carnegie Mellon Women's Math Competition contests.
We are so proud of our current and past members of the Sierra Canyon Math Team for their hard work and remarkable accomplishments!
#SCUpperSchool #SCMathTeam
