Within the SIS community, there is a large number of mathematically capable students who demonstrate excellence in math courses. However, there exists a range of students who strive for more, beyond the school curriculum, whether it be through participating in math competitions like the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), taking advanced college-level courses, or even leading SIS’s math club, Mu Alpha Theta (MAΘ). Among the most dedicated of these students is Russell Jin (11), who demonstrated his mathematical prowess by achieving the no. 1 individual spot at the math AISA tournament this month.
Throughout his middle and high school years, Russell has shown a consistent passion for competition math. Being the night owl he is, it is common to see him working hard with his favorite Dr. Grip mechanical pencil and a pack of rainbow mentos in one hand, grinding out AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Exam) or math olympiad problem sets until as late as 4 a.m. Even with his innate talent in math, his motivation to improve and truly push his limits has helped him become one of the most notable competitors in the SIS math community.
“I started by taking the AMC 8 in middle school, which I had heard about from my friends,” Russell said. “Despite performing poorly at the time, I wanted to continue pursuing competition math because of the feeling I got after finding the correct solution or insight after a lot of effort. After each question that I solved, I would get a huge surge of dopamine, and following the footsteps of my upperclassmen like Joey (co’24), I knew I wanted to pursue this subject.”
Beyond his individual achievements in competitions, Russell has made a positive impact on the SIS math community, especially in MAΘ as its former Competition Team Captain and current President. From preparing weekly homework problem sets, lecturing members on complex concepts, or leading presentations, he has contributed to creating a more enthusiastic environment for learning math.
Indeed, his persistence has paid off, as from Feb. 6-9, SIS participated in the AISA math tournament, Math Mania, at KIS Jeju, where Russell was able to achieve no. 1 on the individual ranking. The competition consisted of several individual rounds, such as mental math, multiple-choice, free-response, and code breaker, and also included a free-response team round. Both individual and team contributed to his ultimate placement as first in the competition.
“I was extremely happy after getting first place, and more importantly it felt great to continue Joey’s legacy from last year,” Russell said. “I found the different categories such as mental math interesting, and this variety allowed me to greatly enjoy participating. Although it is bittersweet that my competition math journey is coming to an end, I am really glad that I was able to give it my all and have fun. I also want to thank the team, as we secured a team victory too, and I hope we can keep this up at AISA next year.”
Now, with only a little over a year left in his high school career, he wishes to take a break from mathematics and pursue other engaging pastimes such as playing the piano or reading science fiction. Of course, he wishes to continue pursuing math, but now by exploring different branches such as real analysis, game theory and topology.
“I have few personal aspirations for competition math now, but in my last couple months, I hope to help Mu Alpha Theta win a few more competitions,” Russell said. “I also wish to pursue more pure math in the coming months, as I now have more time to study interesting subjects such as real analysis.”
