Ekal Math Bee 2017

Nandini Seetharaman

Senior, Shrewsbury High School, Shrewsbury, MA

MEDFORD, MA - What better way to spend your Saturday than solving math problems with a purpose? That’s what many kids thought when they came to the Ekal Math Bee on June 24, 2017. The project was helmed by seventh grader Karthik Seetharaman, student of Oak Middle School, Shrewsbury, MA. As a mathlete himself, he wanted to use his passion to support Ekal Vidyalaya.

The math bee was split into three levels. Level 1 was for grades 2 and 3, level 2 was for grades 4, 5, and 6, and level 3 was for grades 7 and 8. Karthik Seetharaman wrote all the questions and they were proofread many times by people such as Dr. Anil Saigal, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University.

Ekal Vidyalaya is dedicated to bringing basic education to every child across rural India and benefit the village communities. With Ekal Vidyalaya's "dollar-a-day" philosophy--each school can be run with only $365 for an year. Ekal youth leaders here in New England are children who take a step forward to help out. They come up with initiatives to raise money and awareness, and roll projects out with guidance from the organization. The result was a high-quality contest that challenged kids and impressed adults.

Karthik has been a shining example of how much an Ekal youth leader can accomplish with the right drive. As long as one has the desire to help and the willingness to work, then anything can happen. The competition raised over $800, more than enough to fund two schools. One parent  even emptied their wallet after being moved by the cause!

The event was very successful and students were generally happy with the result. “There were a lot of bumps along the way, and I’m glad it all worked out,” Karthik Seetharaman was reported as saying. Sharing the winners from the competition:

Level One (2nd to 3rd Grade):

1. Misha Kapoor

2. Suhaas Goluguri

3. Rebecca Koleth

A very honorable mention goes to Sanjay Rangamani, who was tied for third place.

Level Two (4th to 6th Grade):

1. Maurya Virmani

2. Sudar Meyyappan

3. Andy Harlalka

Level Three (7th to 8th Grade):

1. Darshan Krishnaswamy

2. Kathir Meyyappan

3. Navya Sammeta

Congratulations Karthik Seetharaman for a successful event. Congratulations to all participants for being willing to solve math after school ended. Math problems have never been so helpful!

For more information on Ekal Vidyalaya, visit www.ekal.org; To get involved as an Ekal Youth Leader, send an email to boston.ekal@gmail.com

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