Rithwik Gupta (12): My journey with math began in elementary school when I had after-school math classes that were taught by parents in the community. It was such a great environment where I got to solve challenging math problems with my friends. The sense of collaboration is really what sparked my passion.
To me, as cliche as it sounds, math isn’t just about numbers — it’s about the way of thinking and communicating thoughts. I once met someone who told me that English can hinder the communication of highly technical concepts, and I’ve come to see math as a universal language that allows us to communicate deep truths about the real world and bypass any language barrier. I chose math over other subjects like Science or English because every problem feels like piecing together a larger puzzle.

Throughout my time at Irvington, teachers like Ms. Mohandas, Ms. Chung, Ms. Lin, and Ms. Jayakumar have been incredibly inspiring and reframed my understanding of math. They don’t just teach formulas for the students to memorize, but teach applications that require a lot of thought. I often find that this analytical mindset spills over into other subjects like my English classes, where I apply the same sort of logic to build up and break down ideas for an essay. 

Math also has brought me quite a bit of joy and accomplishment throughout the years. One of my favorite memories is from my freshman year, when a friend and I spent a sleepover just working through math problems in our sleeping bags, talking through our intuition and thought process until we found the answers. Outside of school, I have qualified for the American Invitational Math Exam several times, which is something I am very proud of. 

As I move closer to graduation, I hope that every student at Irvington can realize that math isn’t just a subject about memorizing equations and concepts. A formula is only truly understood when you can grasp the intuition behind it. Similar to how words can capture ideas, equations capture essences of how math and the broader world work. I want my peers to realize that math isn’t a hurdle, but a tool for expression and understanding.