Congratulations to Victor Shi ’29, Peter Yang ’26, and Roger Huang ’29, who achieved Honorable Mention in the University of Maryland High School Math Competition, awarded to top-scoring students. Additionally, Shi was the highest scorer among all Baltimore City competitors. 

Gilman’s Math Club, led by faculty advisor Will Marbury ’93, meets once a week, where they dive into math problems together with a shared goal of improving in the subject. In addition to taking delight in complex mathematical concepts, the group also participates in a few competitions throughout the year, including the aforementioned one run by the University of Maryland, as well as ones organized by the Maryland Math League and the Mathematical Association of America.

In the fall of 2025, 14 Gilman boys entered Part 1 of the University of Maryland High School Math Competition, open to any high school student in the state and District of Columbia, consisting of 25 multiple-choice questions. Six of the 14 Gilman students qualified to continue to Part 2, which involved answering five essay/proof questions. Calculators and computers were prohibited for both tests.

Not only did Shi earn the highest combined score of all Baltimore City students but also among the six ninth graders throughout Maryland who qualified to take Part 2 of the test. Shi’s strong interest in math goes all the way back to his days of learning multiplication tables and fractions in Lower School. Now, as an advanced student, he enjoys exploring the many properties of numbers. “I love how math gives me the opportunity to be creative and innovative and to improve my problem-solving skills,” he said.

This may be the first time a Gilman student has earned Honorable Mention in this competition. (Past results are listed since 1998 though the competition has been held since 1979. And although Gilman students were the top scorers in Baltimore City from 2015–2019 and in 2022 and 2023, they did not achieve Honorable Mention status.) 

It is not unheard of for freshmen from around the state to be on the Honorable Mention list but it is uncommon, according to the competition’s chair, Dr. Roohollah Ebrahimian, making the honor an especially remarkable accomplishment for Shi and Huang. “As a leader of the Math Club that prepares for this competition, I am especially proud of Victor and Roger,” said Yang. The senior first qualified for Part 2 his sophomore year. During that go-round, he reports barely being able to answer two of the questions; this year, he prepared much more extensively and completed four of the five questions in the allotted time. “I hit many roadblocks, but had a series of ‘a-ha’ moments that carried me through,” he said. “Doing well in this competition was the perfect ending to the many hours spent practicing.”

Marbury has been impressed with the skill level of his math students, especially the ones in Math Club, since he returned to his alma mater to teach in 2022. “These kids are so super smart. They are tackling some really interesting problems — and having fun doing it,” he said. He noted that these students find “camaraderie and collaboration doing what most people say is painful and scary,” and that it brings a smile to his face. He went on: “When you learn something, it lights up the same part of your brain that is activated when you fall in love. Seeing these guys fall in love with math is really cool.”