New graduate records highest math score 
in the nation during competition

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

WORCESTER – When Joonho Kim, a new graduate of St. Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High School, found out that he recorded the highest score in the nation in the Catholic Math League’s advanced math competition this year, he was proud and stunned.

“I feel pretty surprised because I’ve met many people who are much better at math than me,” Joonho said. “Although I was above average in math, this was the first time I’ve ever been in first place at a math competition.”

Many of the students who Joonho thought were more proficient in math than him lived in his native country of South Korea. He’s come a long way since he moved to Shrewsbury and joined the math club at St. Paul as a freshman.

“I practiced more this year,” he said. “Basically, in the Catholic Math League’s competitions there are questions on the front page that are pretty easy and there are questions on the back page that have these trigonometric formulas and are pretty hard. So I spent more time this year studying those trigonometric formulas and practicing them.”

The St. Paul math team, composed of 16 students in grades seven through 12, practiced math problems in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, precalculus and statistics for about 45 minutes each week from September through March.

Four times a year, Catholic Math League students must answer 25 math questions in 30 minutes without the use of a calculator. Joonho, 19, scored 98 out of 100 this school year to finish as the top scorer in the nation in any division by four points. He also had the top score in Division 2, which is based on school enrollment.

He received a trophy for each accomplishment.

“I’m pretty proud,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever won a national first-place trophy and it definitely encourages me to study math in college.”

Joonho plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall.

Joonho is the first student from St. Paul or either of the two schools that merged to form St. Paul four years ago, Holy Name and St. Peter-Marian, to finish first in the competition.

“I felt like I did well on it, but I didn’t know I’d get a 98 out of 100,” he said.

Carole Amidon ranked Joonho as the top student she’s had in the four years she’s coached the math team at St. Paul and the more than 20 years she coached the math team at St. Peter-Marian.

“It’s a passion for him,” Mrs. Amidon said. “He loves it.”

Joonho also has what it takes to excel.

“Determination, curiosity,” Mrs. Amidon said. “He always wants to know more, is always asking the questions, ‘What if this happened, what if this happened,’ and always looking at the whole picture, always looking to learn more. That shows intelligence when they want to know more than what they really need to know. He’s so bright, so bright.”

Mrs. Amidon also taught Joonho in her precalculus class when he was a sophomore. Calculus is Joonho’s favorite type of math.

Joonho led St. Paul to a sixth-place finish in Division 2 as a team. His sister, Eugene, a sophomore, also belongs to the math club. The top three scorers in each competition count toward the team score.

Joonho and Eugene grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and live in Miah Nam’s boarding house in Shrewsbury with two other St. Paul students from South Korea. Their parents live in South Korea. Their father, Jooseok Kim, is a judge and their mother, Jeeyoung Kim, is a neurologist. Joonho said his parents beamed with pride when he told them he had posted the top math score in the nation.

Mrs. Amidon considers Joonho to be an excellent role model for the younger students.

“The kids see him score and get this trophy,” she said, “and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can do that too. I want to do that.’ It gives them drive; it gives them motivation. He is the ultimate example of what you want your kid to do in high school.”

Joonho also inspires Mrs. Amidon.

“Absolutely,” she said. “When you get students who are passionate about the same thing you’re passionate about, that’s an honor. They think as highly about your subject as you do. It makes you want to teach them more; it makes you want to spend time with them, and he has done that.”

So what do his fellow students think of him winning the national math competition?

“The people at my boarding house with me are jealous,” he said. “I don’t think my team members are jealous because we are a team.”

Being a member of the math team requires a lot of work.

“It’s not like we’re just showing up and we’re going to pass around this Rubik’s Cube and solve it,” Mrs. Amidon said. “We are literally working our brain cells and he’s just exceptional.”

Mrs. Amidon said the Catholic Math League students must be prepared to answer questions about all sorts of math.

“There’s no way to say to the kids that this month’s exam is going to be on all polynomials,” she said. “Let’s study polynomials until our fingers fall off. It’s not like that. Everything is random.”

It should come as no surprise that Joonho is ranked No. 1 academically in his senior class of 76 students. He is also a class officer and a member of the public speaking club and Model UN team. He plays the clarinet in the school band and enjoys the Korean martial art of Taekwondo.

Joonho said his parents are Protestants and he currently doesn’t really practice any religion.

“They wanted me to explore different religious beliefs and that’s why they sent me to this Catholic high school,” he said. “After being with Catholics, I want to become a Catholic.”