Math
The challenge is the point.
Aiden has done math outside school since kindergarten. Ask him what keeps him at it and he won’t name one kind of problem. It’s whatever he hasn’t learned yet.
Helping his younger brother, Aaron, with math at home.
Right now
In class, after school and on test day.
At Fay
Algebra 1 Advanced
Aiden moved into advanced math for seventh grade and is taking Algebra 1 Advanced.
Outside school
Think Academy
He’s studied there since kindergarten. This year it’s an AMC 10 course and an AMC 8 workshop, about five hours a week.
Competitions
Math Kangaroo, AMC 8, AMC 10
He has taken part in Math Kangaroo and the AMC 8, and is registered for his first AMC 10 this November.
Working through a Think Academy problem set at home, fall 2026.
When it gets hard
New topics feel like uncharted territory. He likes that.
“The challenge of being somewhere new is the point. The challenge is what makes me keep on working.”
Aiden, on why he likes math
When a problem won’t give, his first move is to try a different method he already knows, since most problems can be solved more than one way. If that still doesn’t work, he goes looking: another source, or a teacher, a parent or a classmate.
Helping others
Helping means listening.
Last year Aiden regularly helped classmates with math, things like graphing linear equations. He helps his younger brother and sister at home too.
“Even if it’s someone I don’t really know, I make sure to ask them what they don’t understand … so from there, I can start building.”
Aiden, on helping classmates
His approach starts with listening. With friends he already knows where they are. With someone new, he asks what they don’t understand and builds from there.