NYS Mathematics Association Awards Scholarships to Three GCC Students!

GCC Takes 6th Place State Wide in Math League Competition

Batavia, NY (04/26/2018) — Last week in Glen Falls, NY, the New York State Mathematics Association of Two Year Colleges (NYSMATYC) held its annual conference and awarded $8,000 in scholarships to 15 students. Many students submitted applications for these merit-based awards. Three of those scholarships, collectively totaling $1,200 were awarded to students from Genesee Community College. Specifically, Taylor Nusstein and Robert J. Cook were each awarded $500, and Dmitrii Kapitonov was awarded $200.

Nusstein of Cowlesville, NY began her studies as a GCC Math Science Preparatory student in the fall of 2013. Kapitonov of Batavia, NY is an Engineering Science student at GCC and Cook of Kendall, NY is enrolled in the Natural Science program at GCC.

GCC students also performed exceptionally well in this year's Mathematics League. NYSMATYC formed the Mathematics League for NYS Two-Year Colleges in 1980 to provide a challenge and foster interest in mathematics. The league has also generated a nearly 40-year long friendly competition between two-year colleges across the state.

During the NYSMATYC conference, the annual Math League competition results were officially announced. During this competition participants take two timed exams consisting of approximately 20 mathematical questions each - once in the Fall and once in the Spring. The top five scores from each college are combined to form the college's team score for each exam. Then, the Fall and Spring exam scores for both individuals and teams are combined to crown the academic year's champion college and individual. Prizes for the competition often include mathematical software generously donated by the Math League sponsors and mathematical and scientific journals and magazines.

This year, almost 700 students from 29 different SUNY and CUNY two year colleges took the exams. The collective team of Genesee Community College students took a remarkable 6th place in the competition! Individually, five GCC students finished in the top 33 overall:

18th place - Joshua Thompson of Rochester, NY, a home-school student
20th place - Triton Adamski of Corfu, NY, a senior at Pembroke High School and a GCC ACE student
21st place - Dmitrii Kapitonov of Batavia, NY
33rd place tie - Jacob Bolton of LeRoy, and a GCC ACE student
33rd place tie -Trent Osborne of Holley, NY

Even more impressive - scores for Thompson, Adamski and Bolton are based on only haven taken one of the two exams, beating many students who had two scores combined!

Adamski and Bolton are both Accelerated College Enrollment (ACE) program students granting them college level courses and credit while still attending high school. Adamski will graduate from GCC with an A.S. degree in Natural Science several weeks before earning his high school diploma!

"These scholarship recipients and Math League students represent many slices of GCC's student population and are a true testament not only to the strength and dedication of the Mathematics and Engineering department, but to the quality and power of GCC as an educational institution," Christopher Kemp, associate professor, director of GCC's Mathematics and Engineering Science Division and NYSMATYC President said. "The first two years of a Math or Engineering degree are almost identical regardless of the school at which the courses are taken. Seeing how successful our students are, and the opportunities our students have for scholarship and advancement, it should be obvious that GCC is an exceptional place for students to begin their academic careers."

Genesee Community College offers an associate degree in Mathematics, and the ACE program gives students the opportunity to earn significant college credits while still in high school. For more information on the ACE program, contact GCC at (585) 345-6801, or via email at ACE@genesee.edu.

Additional information about the NYSMATYC is available at http://www.nysmatyc.org/.

For more information, contact Marketing Communications Associate Director Donna Rae Sutherland at (585) 343-0055 ext. 6616, or via email: dsutherland@genesee.edu.

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Editor's Note:

A photograph of the scholarship winners, courtesy of GCC, is available at:

http://marketing.genesee.edu/images/NYSMATYCScholarship2018.jpg

Pictured left to right: Professor Philip Pickering, Robert Cook, Taylor Nusstein, Dmitrii Kapitonov and Professor Christopher Kemp