Nine tenths of education is encouragement.

- Anatole France

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2024 Colorado Math Awards

The 29 th annual Colorado Math Awards (CMA) reception and program was held on Tuesday afternoon, May 7th, on the University of Denver campus. Sixty-four Colorado middle school and high school students were recognized for outstanding performance in national math competitions: MATHCOUNTS; AMC 8, 10A&B, and 12A&B contests; USA Math and Junior Math Olympiads; and American Regional Mathematics League (ARML) team competitions. More than 110 persons attended the event, including students, family members, teachers and coaches, and guests.

To the Stars

Keynote speaker, Dr. Joseph Bolz, George Washington High School math teacher and CCTM and NCTM board member, addressed the student honorees directly: “You all are phenomenal, brilliant math students in your own right. You are stars. You are math stars. But you are math stars and so much more. Don’t let mathematics be the only thing that defines you.”



Dr. Bolz’s Entire Speech

For the first time, student performance in the AMC 8-10-12 exams is compared with the entire group of students nationwide taking these exams. (See page 2 of the 4-page program for a description of the “five-star” notation, available here .

Some key results:

  • Eight different Colorado students finished in the top 1% nationally on one or more of the AMC 8, 10A, and 10B exams.
  • A “Top 1%” 8th grader was a 1st place winner among all Colorado students who took the AMC 8, 10A or 10B exams; he scored a perfect paper on the 10A exam!
  • Another 8th grader was a top 1% finisher in the AMC 10A exam.
  • A 5th grader and a 7th grader tied for 2nd place among all Colorado students who took the AMC 8 exam.
  • A 9th grader was a top 1% finisher in both the AMC 10A and 10B exams.Some key results:

Another highlight of the afternoon was the presentation of $1,000 scholarship awards to two outstanding high school seniors: Kelly Young (Summit Middle School and Fairview High School, Boulder) and Srinivas Arun (Campus Middle School and Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village). The scholarships are given in memory of Dr. Richard “Dick” Gibbs, professor emeritus of Ft. Lewis College and the Co-founder and Co-chair of CMA with me until his death last November. Each awardee also received a medal; the inscription on the reverse side reads: 

Dick Gibbs Award
Top Problem-solver!
CMA 2024.

The selection process for these awards is described here .

After the medal presentations, a teacher for each of them spoke briefly—Jim Padavic, Srinivas’s math teacher at Cherry Creek High School, and Thomas Davids, Kelly’s coach of the Colorado Teams that participate in ARML competitions. Mr. Padavic’s remarks are available here , and Mr. Davids’ remarks are here . In each case, teachers not only spoke about the mathematical abilities of these students, but also their genuine willingness to help other students. After the teachers spoke, each awardee expressed their deep gratitude in being selected for this honor.

Looking ahead to next year, the 30 th anniversary of Colorado Math Awards, Dr. David Carlson, CMA Co-founder and Co-chair, invited those present to become “Friends of CMA” with a minimum $30 donation. Donation options by check or QR code are available here .