It was clear early on to Nate Maydanchik’s parents that he had some special skills when it came to math.
His father, Arkady Maydanchik, who won numerous math competitions as a youth and now teaches in his not-for-profit after-school math program for children in grades 2-8, has some fun memories of his son’s early interest and aptitude in math.
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When Nate was in second grade and on a family vacation, he became ill with a high fever during a long hike, his father said. On a nearly two-hour walk back to the car, Nate asked his father to “play” Hailstone numbers with him.
“It is a number theory problem that requires a lot of calculations,” Arkady Maydanchik said. “Doing the math was not a chore for him, it was what he wanted to do when he was ill or bored to make him feel better.”
As a Butler Junior High sixth-grader two years ago, Nate finished second in the state MATHCOUNTS competition, which qualified him for the national contest. A year ago, he placed seventh at the state level, which only motivated him more to achieve success in his final attempt as an eighth grader this year.
And that motivation sparked Nate to his best showing so far — he won this years’ Chapter Competition of 72 students, Chapter Invitational, which had 15, and the state contest, which included 96 students. He now will compete May 8-10 in the national competition, which is being done virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It definitely motivated me to make me practice really hard,” Nate said of placing seventh a year ago. “I felt I did well as a sixth-grader because I was one of the youngest, competing against older students. But I’m excited to have another chance and want to do much better this year.”
The MATHCOUNTS Foundation was established in 1983 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and CNA Insurance. A year later, the first national competition was held.
MATHCOUNTS reaches students in grades 6-8 in all states and U.S. territories with three extracurricular math programs, according to information from the organization. More than a quarter million students participate in the programs or use our its resources each year.
The MATHCOUNTS competition offers Nate the opportunity to do two things he enjoys.
“I’ve always liked math, and, in general, I’m a very competitive person,” he said. “This is a way for me to express that competitiveness.”
Nate’s father agreed that his son is competitive.
“Nate always takes those ‘failures’ hard and is brooding for a day or two, but then he comes back with a vengeance and just works harder to atone and prove that he can do it,” Arkady Maydanchik said. “Math progress is not linear, and competing in the high-level contests, many of which are two-plus grades above his, means more ‘failures’ than ‘successes,’ at least in the way Nate defines success as being the best.”
Nate, for the past eight years, has worked for 10-plus hours a week on math, with no more than a few weeks off each year. He currently does 15-plus hours of math each week.
“Near the top, everyone is supremely talented and so you cannot ‘out-talent’ the others; you can only outwork them,” his father said.