For Statesboro High School junior Julie Shen a complicated mathematical equation is a challenge and fun, at the same time.
Shen likes math. In fact, she absolutely adores all forms of algebraic calculations. Not surprisingly, she has been part of the SHS math teams that have battled against the other area powerhouses at the regional Armstrong and Georgia Southern Invitational Math Tournaments, winning both 2nd and 3rd Individual Awards both years in the junior varsity category.
Recently, Shen competed in the State of Georgia’s “Trig Star Competition,” sponsored by the Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia. Students are given tests with numerous problems requiring them to use the laws of “sine” and “cosine” to find the dimensions, angles and areas of plots, with very little data being provided.
As it turned out, Shen had the highest score in the entire state, with a 95.
On the basis of her high score, she will now go on to compete later this summer in the National “Trig Star” competition, which is sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors.
For her state win, both she and her current Math teacher, Chad Prosser, will each receive a $1,000 check. If she wins one of the Richard E. Lomax National Trig-Star and Teaching Excellence Awards in the national competition, both she and Prosser will receive an even larger check.
Her father, Junan Shen, is a professor of Civil Engineering at Georgia Southern University, so maybe she has inherited his talent for crunching numbers. Her mother, Min Zhu, takes care of Shen’s younger sisters, Evy, 5, and Erin, 2.
Shen said: “I spent a lot of time studying for the test, which took me 55 minutes to complete.” She said her parents told her “they were very proud of my accomplishment” when she called them from school to give them the news about the high score.
Shen likes math. In fact, she absolutely adores all forms of algebraic calculations. Not surprisingly, she has been part of the SHS math teams that have battled against the other area powerhouses at the regional Armstrong and Georgia Southern Invitational Math Tournaments, winning both 2nd and 3rd Individual Awards both years in the junior varsity category.
Recently, Shen competed in the State of Georgia’s “Trig Star Competition,” sponsored by the Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia. Students are given tests with numerous problems requiring them to use the laws of “sine” and “cosine” to find the dimensions, angles and areas of plots, with very little data being provided.
As it turned out, Shen had the highest score in the entire state, with a 95.
On the basis of her high score, she will now go on to compete later this summer in the National “Trig Star” competition, which is sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors.
For her state win, both she and her current Math teacher, Chad Prosser, will each receive a $1,000 check. If she wins one of the Richard E. Lomax National Trig-Star and Teaching Excellence Awards in the national competition, both she and Prosser will receive an even larger check.
Her father, Junan Shen, is a professor of Civil Engineering at Georgia Southern University, so maybe she has inherited his talent for crunching numbers. Her mother, Min Zhu, takes care of Shen’s younger sisters, Evy, 5, and Erin, 2.
Shen said: “I spent a lot of time studying for the test, which took me 55 minutes to complete.” She said her parents told her “they were very proud of my accomplishment” when she called them from school to give them the news about the high score.