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MHS students compete at national math convention

Posted: by Patricia Gibson, Communications Director
Several Marion Community Schools students showed off their math skills to a national audience recently, competing at the Mu Alpha Theta National Convention.

Nineteen members of the Marion High School chapter of Mu Alpha Theta, a national mathematics honor society, attended the convention in San Diego July 21-26.

At the conference, about 600 students from around the country participated in a variety of competitions as individuals and teams. The Giants finished 18th overall out of 45 schools.

Several Giants earned individual awards:
  • James Walts and Andrew Spitzer earned second place in the Math Video competition.
  • Alyssa Ngo earned fourth place in the Alpha Chalk Talk Speech competition.
  • The MHS team placed ninth in the Math Poster competition.
  • Zach Spitzer placed 10th in the Theta Gemini competition.
  • Isabelle Case placed 14th in the Shortcuts competition.
  • Samantha Diedrich and Myla Townsend placed 15th in the Gemini competition
In addition, MHS senior Vinai Oddiraju was elected Mu Alpha Theta Region 3 representative for the 2013-14 school year. (There are four Mu Alpha Theta regions in the United States.) Oddiraju was also elected Mu Alpha Theta national secretary/treasurer for the 2013-14 school year.


The conference also featured workshops, social events and other activities – including trips to area attractions - as well as award ceremonies.

This is the second year MHS has sent a group of students to the Mu Alpha Theta National Convention. Last year’s took place in Boston.

Mu Alpha Theta is a national mathematics honor society for students in high school and two-year colleges. In June 2012, the membership totaled 93,300 in more than 1,950 schools. Mu Alpha Theta is dedicated to inspiring keen interest in mathematics, developing strong scholarship in the subject, and promoting the enjoyment of mathematics.



Marion High School Mu Alpha Theta members pose for a group photo. They are: front row, Zach Spitzer, Alyssa Ngo, Vinai Oddiraju, Alex Ott, Patricia Manio; middle row, Janet Huffman, Amogh Sehgal, James Walts, Andrew Spitzer, Isabelle Case, Myla Townsend; back row, Austin Ott, Ted Fry, Abishek Sehgal, Christian Kelley, Nathaniel Porter, Tejas Srikanth, Samantha Diedrich, Steven Ngo.