UAIS students take the prize in higher-level mathematics competition

Three Utica Academy for International Studies students were honored in a high-level mathematics competition.

Seniors Troy Zuccaro, Daria Solomon and Gordon Smilnak took top spots out of more than 6,400 math students participating in the Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition.

Zuccaro place 40th in the competition, earning a bronze medal and a $250 scholarship. Solomon and Smilnak scored in the top 100.

"The Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition offers students the chance to take a rigorous test that challenges their mathematical creativity," said UAIS teacher Tiffany McNair. "Students are faced with difficult questions unlike any seen in textbooks, so students' ability to apply mathematical thinking is truly tested."

The mathematics prize competition requires students to qualify through a 40 question first round and then compete with 1,000 other top students with five open-ended questions.

This is the second year Zuccaro has scored among the top students in this rigorous competition.

The three UAIS students are members of the International Baccalaureate upper level math program, placing them among only five percent of students internationally.

The students see math as a way to better understand their world.

"If you can make things work with numbers, it is an easier way to view the world and gives you a better perspective," Zuccaro said.