Taylor Students Excel in Regional Math Competition

A group of three Taylor students placed third out of 26 teams in the Michigan Autumn Take-Home (MATH) challenge hosted by Taylor University this past fall semester. The team included Ethan Elliot ‘26, Mark Lee ‘25, and Kelden Wright ‘25. In addition, another Taylor team placed fifth out of the 26, including students Kyle Dagman ‘28, Will Forbes ‘27, and Seon Ung Wang ‘28. 

TwelveMidwestern universities were represented, with Hillsdale College taking first place and Kalamazoo College coming in second.     

The three-hour test consisted of 10 challenging math questions that required the students to apply concepts learned in their courses. For example, a problem might have said, “Find all three digit numbers divisible by 11 such that if we switch the first two digits or the last two digits, we get prime numbers.”  

Mathematics-Interdisciplinary major Elliot, Mathematics-Interdisciplinary and Physics double major Lee, and Computer Engineering major Wright were elated when they discovered that they had come in third place, having answered about half of the problems correctly.  

“I was really surprised because I did not expect us to place that high,” Lee said. “You just have to go into the competition and expect to have a little bit of fun working together and looking for solutions with your teammates.”     

Growth in Problem Solving  

“In problem-solving classes or environments, the focus is mainly placed on repetition,” Elliott said. “When problems are challenging in these competitions, learning how to figure out the base of the problem is foundational in reaching a correct solution.”    

“By noticing the structure of a problem, you can kind of see where it's going from the start,” Elliott said.     

Courses such as Introduction to Computational Problem Solving, a Computer Science class that taught Elliot to code and eventually influenced him to add a Computer Science minor, helped sharpen his problem solving abilities. This gave Elliott a solid mathematical foundation to use in classes and helped him approach difficult problems with specific techniques.  

Lee contributed a greater knowledge of complex numbers, induction, and standard mathematical procedures for solving problems. He was pleased to find he had a secure grasp on topics that he was unfamiliar with before entering college. 

Using Teamwork to Untangle Concepts  

Teamwork was vital and helped the students capitalize on each other’s strengths and solve problems efficiently. Lee said that he usually gravitates towards abstract algebra, while Wright is skilled at geometry and proofs, and Elliott enjoys working on logic and deduction problems.  

The various problems presented could take anywhere from a few moments to several hours to solve. Collaboration was key, which Lee had learned from working with Elliott and Wright in the classroom. If one teammate stalled at a particular problem, they could ask another teammate for their perspective.  

“Usually there's a very elegant solution, and you just have to see how the logic goes,” Elliott said. “That's exactly why different perspectives are so useful, because someone does see it right away, and you're like, ‘Oh, yeah, of course.’”  

Mentoring Process  

During the fall semester, Dr. Amish Mishra, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, organized weekly pizza and problem-solving meetings where students practiced competition problems. The practice materials had been curated by Dr. Derek Thompson, Department Co-Chair and Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Daniel Rodman, Associate Professor of Mathematics over the years. 

“Competitions like this are important because they allow our students to apply what they've learned in a competitive setting to show themselves and future employers the quality of the Taylor education,” Mishra said.  

Taylor teams participated in two math competitions this past year, with approximately 12 students in each one. The team-friendly environments provided students with an opportunity to bond and connect outside of typical courses.     

The Indiana Collegiate Mathematics Competition (ICMC) takes place each spring, and the MATH challenge happens annually in the fall. The Taylor Mathematics Department encourages their students to participate in both competitions and gain experience.