Faith Odunsi rose to prominence after winning the Global Open Mathematics Tournament Competition. Her ability to solve mathematics problems is second to none. In the Cowbellpedia Mathematics Competition, she set a record after answering 19 questions in 60 seconds, defeating participants from the United Kingdom, China and the United States.
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Her achievement has enabled her to put her country into the spotlight. What’s Faith Odunsi doing now? Keep reading to find out.
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Faith Odunsi’s Background
Faith was born on August 30, 2005, in Ogun State, Nigeria. The mathematical gene runs in her family. Her father participated in local competitions and got to the state level. Odunsi’s brother has also competed in local competitions. Her mother is a businesswoman and proud of her daughter’s achievements.
The mathematics genius did her primary and secondary education at Ogun State. She was a student at the Ambassador Schools, Ota, when she competed in the tournament.
As a result of her achievement, Odunsi was granted the opportunity to further her studies at any Nigerian University.
However, she opted to go abroad and is a Computer Science and Electrical Engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Mathematics Competition
If you watch a clip of Faith Odunsi answering questions during the math contest, you’ll be surprised at how easy it comes for her. She explained that math is about understanding the basic concepts and applying them.
“Mathematics is about understanding the concepts. If you do that, you should be able to answer any questions,” Odunsi told TVC News Nigeria.
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This approach saw her break the record in the competition after answering 19 questions in 60 seconds. She competed against students from Indonesia and the Philippines. She won with a margin of 30 points and talked to a Nigerian publication about the experience.
“My biggest fear came in the semi-finals because I got into a tiebreaker. After we got the question, I looked at it solved and crosschecked and was the first to give the correct answer. In the final, I wasn’t as scared because I’d gotten the hang of everything. I got 40 points and my Indonesian competitor got 10.”
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School and Parents’ Reactions
Her accomplishments put her former school in the spotlight and inspired many students. Her mathematics Mr Oladipo Olatunde explained how they prepared her for the competitions.
“When we saw her, we saw the possibility of her competing against students from the United States, Philippines and other countries that do well in math. At first, she was afraid, but I encouraged her to realize that math is simple and easy. It’s all about examining the question and thinking through it and if she does that, she can answer any question.” Olatunde told TVC News Nigeria.
Faith Odunsi’s parents speak highly of her. Her father is proud that she surpassed his accomplishment, having only reached the state level.
“I also represented my school up to the state level. My daughter has surpassed that and she can do more. She’s special. She’s inquisitive, logical and meticulous,” Mr Ofulabi Odunsi said.
Her achievements attracted the attention of the Governor of her state. She also received a cash prize of N1 million or $1260.
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Other Competitions
The victory at the Global Open Mathematics Tournament was a culmination of many years of practice and competition. Here are other competitions she’s participated in:
- Maltina Mathematics Competition.
- Cowbellpedia Mathematics Competition.
- National Olympiad.
- Kangourou Sans Frontieres.
- South African Mathematics Olympiad.
- American Mathematics Competition.
- Pan-African Mathematics Olympiad.
In these competitions, Fait Odunsi won medals and the National Olympiad recognized her as the queen of Mathematics from her time as a junior high school student until she was in Senior High School.
Faith Odunsi proved that girls can be just as good in mathematics. Her outstanding academic abilities have opened doors for her and she’s utilized every opportunity. Hopefully, more girls can follow in her footsteps and engage in the subject more.
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