Almost Heaven, West Virginia: Math Field Day Competitions by Grace

Almost Heaven, West Virginia: Math Field Day Competitions by Grace - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

Most schools can expect their math scores to be lower than their English scores on standardized testing. My school however, has always been the other way around. Students at Frankfort High School excel in Mathematics, and I believe there are two explanations for this. The first is that West Virginia is just one of a few states to teach integrated mathematics, rather than your typical "Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, etc." This integration allows us to see the relationships between different aspects of math. This helps students to make connections and expand on them every year, rather than forgetting everything from Algebra I from freshman to junior year. The second explanation is that a love of math is ingrained in every student from a very young age by a competition, unique to West Virginia, called "Math Field Day." Math Field Day participants range from grades four through 12, where they compete at a school, county, regional, and state level.

This is where my passion for math truly began. My elementary school did not offer Math Field Day to fourth graders, but I was bursting at the seams when I qualified at the school level to move on to the county level as a fifth grader. I made it to the county level competition every single year from fifth grade to eleventh grade, and further made it to the regional competition about 4 or 5 times. Kids at school took Math Field Day very seriously. Our teachers held practices after school, consisting of tests used in previous years of Math Field Day, and graded them according to Math Field Day guidelines. I am a competitive person by nature, so Math Field Day made me aspire to be the strongest math student in my grade. At first, I struggled a little, but soon I was solving problems in no time. It is common knowledge that you are more likely to enjoy something you are good at, so of course, the better I got at math, the more I loved it and the more I wanted to learn.

As a senior, I signed up for/took so many math classes that they actually had to kick me out of one so other students who need it as a graduation requirement could take it. First semester, I took College Calculus I and AP Statistics. Second semester, I was enrolled in a College Algebra course, but was informed that I had to be removed from the class, as some seniors still needed a math credit to be able to graduate. To fill that spot, I chose the closest thing to a math class I could find: Personal Finance. I know a lot of people hate math, but from all of the Math Field Day competitions and integrated math classes, I can happily say that it is my favorite subject. I am going to be a math major, and I am proud of that. Perhaps one day I will be in charge of the Math Field Day competitions and have the honor to spark the love for math in little kids just like someone did for me!