Ocean City High School Takes First Place at Stockton Math Competition

Ocean City High School grabbed first place in both the individual and group competitions at the fourth annual Mathematical Mayhem at Stockton University on Saturday.

Senior Ben Jargowsky took first place in the individual competition. He joined fellow seniors Ben Fischer and Alec Helm in taking first place in the group competition.

More than 60 students from 10 South Jersey high schools competed in the event, designed to challenge the students and assess their current skill development.

Other schools that participated included Absegami High School, Oakcrest High School, Cedar Creek High School, Mainland Regional High School, Middle Township High School, Southern Regional High School, Atlantic County Institute of Technology (ACIT), Egg Harbor Township High School and Atlantic City High School.

Dr. Harvey Kesselman, provost and executive vice president, told the students they are “some of the brightest minds of the region.”

Kesselman thanked Stockton’s faculty members and explained that they “do this out of the deepness of their hearts.”

Dr. Chia-Lin Wu, of Galloway, an associate professor of Mathematics and the event founder, created and graded the tests with fellow Math faculty.

“His commitment is second to none,” Kesselman said of Wu.

This year, Wu’s son, Brendan Wu, a sophomore at Atlantic County Institute of Technology, was among the competitors.

Middle Township High School math teacher Mario Duca, of Dennisville, said he became involved with Math Mayhem after meeting Wu through the Stockton Coastal Collaborative, a grant-funded initiative where Stockton works with teachers from Cape May and Cumberland counties to support implementation of the Common Core Standards in mathematics.

Cathy Shippen, of Northfield, said her students had a good experience last year, so she brought a new group of students to compete.

Four-time participant John Gazo, of Mays Landing, is the math supervisor at Cedar Creek High School, a 2002 Stockton math graduate and an adjunct instructor at Stockton.

At the university, he teaches “Algebraic Problem Solving,” which focuses on “how to use math in real life.”

“I love teaching at Stockton,” Gazo said, noting that several of his fellow math teachers are adjunct instructors at Stockton “because of Dr. Wu.”

Gazo has wanted to teach at Stockton since he was a student.

“We appreciate Dr. Wu’s effort to keep us connected. He’s been bridging the gap between high school and college,” Gazo said.

Competitor Courtney Petrella, a resident of Mullica and a senior at Cedar Creek, said, “Math came naturally to me, more than other subjects.”

Petrella, who hopes to be an architect, said the test was challenging and fun.

Cedar Creek freshmen Karan Khullar and Todor Penchev, both of Galloway, agreed the test was fun.

Khullar said, “I like the teachers I’ve met,” and Penchev was intrigued by Stockton’s Computational Science program.

The event offered competitors the chance to eat lunch with Stockton Math majors and to tour the campus to get a view of college life.

Stockton student Tom Ballezzi, a senior math major from Ocean City, has volunteered to proctor exams at Math Mayhem since the event started. “Each year has been growing, and Dr. Wu does an excellent job running the program,” he said.

Ballezzi is currently doing his student teaching at Cedar Creek and hopes to become a high school math teacher. Math Mayhem is an opportunity to meet teachers and students in the area.

Math Mayhem is sponsored by Stockton’s School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Mathematics faculty, students in the Math Club and the Pi Mu Epsilon New Jersey Omicron chapter.

Photo Credits: Susan Allen/Stockton University

Photo #1: Dr. Chia-Lin Wu with individual winner Ben Jargowsky

Photo #2: From left to right, Dr. Chia-Lin Wu, Ben Jargowsky, Ben Fischer and Alec Helm