Andrew Chen
Andrew has been selected for two prestigious science events being the International Mathematics Olympiad and the London International Youth Science Forum.
Hello! I am Andrew Chen, currently a year 13 student at Saint Kentigern College in Auckland. I am very grateful to have been selected for both the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) and the London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) this year.
The IMO is the most prestigious mathematics competition in the world, attended by each country’s top few pre-university mathematicians. The problems are highly demanding, requiring the synthesis of known mathematical results, creative thinking, and lengthy logical deduction. This year being my third IMO, I can most certainly attest to it being an incredible experience, providing a level of intellectual challenge seldom found elsewhere, and an appreciation of the commonalities the worlds’ young people share.
Like the IMO, the LIYSF will bring together hundreds of talented and passionate science students from around the world. We will listen to and work alongside accomplished scientists, visit establishments performing cutting-edge research, and bond with each other while visiting some attractions around London. I have been interested in the sciences since a young age and continue to be fascinated by their ability to explain physical phenomena, from the rate of a chemical reaction to how you could launch water balloons guaranteed to hit your target every time.
Outside of these areas, I am also interested in politics, transport, psychology, and how human society functions. I am involved in my school’s top (Auckland Regionals winning) debating team, serve on the Howick Youth Council, run my school’s peer tutoring program and mathematics club, do orienteering, and am working towards the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award.
In the future I hope to go to university overseas, most likely studying some form of applied mathematics. I would like to work in a dynamic environment, using research and analysis to learn how the world works, what drives people, and consequently how to better peoples’ quality of life.
I strongly encourage all students to seek out some of the eye-opening opportunities available to you, especially those with generous Talented School Students Travel Award funding managed by Royal Society Te Apārangi.