Behind a dream come true there is always a lot of work, perseverance and dedication, says Tudor Chelaru, a 7th grader at the 'Emil Racovita' National Collegiate Highschool in Iasi, winner of the gold medal at this year's Junior Balkan Mathematical Olympiad held in Antalya (Turkey) between June 25 - 30.
"For me, this performance means a dream come true and the confirmation of the knowledge and effort put in this year. I make my wishes on the go. I mean, I didn't have such high expectations at the beginning, but I had a step-by-step approach and I set myself phased goals as I continued to advance through the stages of the Olympiad tournaments and the knockout tests. And, yes, when I qualified for the Balkan Olympiad, my goal was to secure an as valuable medal as possible. I ended up with gold. For me, the fulfillment of a dream means constant work and not giving up in the most difficult and frustrating moments. And for that, you always need someone by your side," Tudor Chelaru confessed for AGERPRES.
His passion for mathematics became evident in the 3rd grade, the year his parents enrolled him at the Center of Excellence.
"For me, math is an opportunity to solve problems, to think ingeniously, logically, to find solutions even when you are seemingly in a dead end at first. I like it when I ponder a lot on a problem and manage to figure it out, it's a tough nut to crack by applying an interesting idea that I haven't tackled before, an idea that came to me after many hours of work," Tudor Chelaru went on to say, stressing also that he usually works two or three hours a day.
Tudor Chelaru's teacher, mentor and form master Catalin Budeanu also talks about a lot of work, involvement and passion for mathematics. Tudor is his fourth student to win gold at an international mathematics competition (one of them is Ovidiu Avadanei, who is now pursuing a doctor's degree at the US Berkeley University).
Budeanu explained that in such competitions expectations are highest of the more experienced students, who have previously participated in knockout tests, 8th or 9th graders.
"From a 7th grader you expect a gain in experience and to participate with higher chances next year, having a richer knowledge base, having gone through more types of problems, having learned to manage their emotions during an exam. (...) There are children who stand out through their qualities, some of which are obvious: memory, creativity, work power. To reach a top level you need a fairly high percentage of each of these qualities and it seems that Tudor managed to make an extraordinary leap in an extremely short time," said teacher Catalin Budeanu.
Another five Romanian students who participated in the same competition took home silver medals.
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