May 2, 2006 > Local teen wins math essay contest

by Linda Stone

Seventh grader Rajeswari (Raji) Ramanathan from Horner Junior High School in Fremont is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship for MathMovesU grant program sponsored by Raytheon Company. The contest consists of writing an essay answering three questions: What would you do to make the study of math cooler? What does your teacher or school do to make learning math fun? And, what would you do with a $1,000 grant to help students in your school learn math? The school also receives a matching grant of $1,000.

This isn't the first essay contest Raji has won. "I have won many awards for my writing. For example, when I was in fifth grade, I wrote an essay on George Washington Carver that won fist place for a Black History Month contest." 

Her favorite subjects are math and science and she is involved in several school activities, including the math club.

What's so cool about math? "Math is endless and unchangeable for it has many formulas and tons of rules, right? Wrong! How? Well, instead of being educated by formulas and operations in class everyday, you can also do fun math exercises for the class like a competition, or math games in the classroom," says Raji about how to make math fun to learn.

Besides math and science, Raji enjoys singing and dancing and has performed in many Indian concerts, wining trophies and awards including a scholarship for singing an Indian folk song with her sister in the Fremont Arts Council showcase.

Raji is very grateful for the help and encouragement she has received from her teachers Mrs. Hernandez, Mrs. Ruzika, Ms. Chiu and Mrs. Fickes, as well as her family.