CAMPUS CURRENT Student News
Loving Math and Winning Medals






I









t was just a short time ago that Jennifer Iglesias ’12, then a













high school senior, was enjoying the limelight as a member









of the first U.S. team to attend the China Girls Mathematical










Olympiad. Her team did well (five of eight members earned








medals), but she did not return with a medal. However, in















2008, she and another member won gold. This past summer,












Iglesias attended the competition again, this time returning











with seven medals.











While not her medals per se, Iglesias certainly could share














in the credit for each victory. The medals—two gold, three













silver and two bronze—were earned by the seven girls on the













U.S. team. Iglesias was one of two coaches who helped lead the

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team to victory.

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Iglesias and Zuming Feng, a U.S. Math Olympiad coach,


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worked with high school girls who were the top finalists in


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the 2009 USA Mathematical Olympiad. Before the trip to



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China, the girls trained at the Mathematical Olympiad Sum-
mer Program (MOSP) in Lincoln, Nebraska, offered by the
“It was very different from being on the team, because the
Mathematical Association of America. After the first seven
pressure wasn’t on me. I was nervous for the girls but it wasn’t
days of the program, one of the girls described the experi-
quite the same,” said Iglesias, a graduate of Illinois Mathe-
ence as, “One wild week of geometry, inequalities, tests and
matics and Science Academy and now a math major, who
meeting new people.” For three and a half weeks, the girls en-
favors algebra and combinatorics. “I enjoyed working on the
joyed seven hours of math per day in the class-
problems with the other coaches and arguing for points during
room and four-hour tests every other day.
the grading.”
Iglesias graded tests, worked with the
Iglesias said that while growing up, she always enjoyed
girls during study hours and made
math but was inspired to consider it seriously by an “awesome
preparations for the trip to China.
high school math coach.”
Also assisting the team this year at
“He worked with me a lot and was really enthusiastic about
MOSP were Mudders Abbygail
it. That’s what really got me into it.”
Palmer ’08, a grader, and Andrew
Iglesias believes her experience as a two-time U.S. girls team
Neidermaier ’04, a teacher.
member helped her to successfully coach this year’s team. She
On Aug. 11, the seven-member
has yet to decide if she will coach next year’s U.S. team or,
U.S. team and coaches headed to
instead, spend her summer doing mathematical research
Fujian Province in the coastal city of
during HMC’s summer research program. In any case, she will
Xiamen, the site of the Olympiad.
watch the team with interest as they help to break the girls-
Founded in 2002 as a regional competition
aren’t-good-at-math stereotype. She sees the girls-only compe-
for teams of female students from China and other
tition as a great way to encourage young women to study math
eastern Asian countries (including Russia), the China Olympi-
and develop their mathematical talents.
ad was recently expanded to invite teams from more countries,
including the U.S. While the math competition was the main
For the U.S. Girls Mathematical Olympiad online travelogue,
purpose of the weeklong trip, the group also enjoyed sightsee-
visit www.msri.org/specials/gmo/2009
ing, shopping and cuisine of the region.
The U.S. team was one of over 50 international girls’ teams
Listen to Jennifer Iglesias, President Maria Klawe and recent
that competed.
Nelson Series speaker Danica McKellar discuss girls and math on
an archived episode of NPR’s “Science Friday.” www.sciencefriday.
com/program/archives/200709214
12 Harvey Mudd College FALL/WINTER 2009
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