7th-Grader Qualifies for National Math Competition

A South Pasadena Middle School seventh-grader will join three other students representing California at a National math competition in Washington.

John Nham will go to Washington May 16, having captured the first-place trophy in the recent Southern California MathCounts competition. The 13-year-old competed against 168 seventh- and eighth-graders from 42 different schools.

“John is a remarkably talented and intuitive mathematician,” said Doug Buhler, an algebra teacher at South Pasadena Middle School.

More than 350,000 students participate annually in MathCounts, a nationwide event sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

The competition seeks to encourage junior high school students to be enthusiastic about math.