GTF: When did you start participating in math Olympiads?
MC: My first Olympiad was in Cuba. I was 14 years old and it was the Central American and the Caribbean Math Olympiad. I think everything sparked with my first participation in an Olympiad. I liked math before that, but it wasn't that huge until after the Olympiad. I think when someone is good at math, math automatically becomes something that you are interested in. I just was good at math before that first Olympiad, but I didn't have that passion that I have right now.
GTF: Do you have any favorite memories from Olympiads?
MC: Participating in math Olympiads is a very, very great experience. Not only because you get to participate in something important to the world, but also because you can meet other people with your passion–that’s what I enjoy the most. And you can meet people that in the future are going to be important for your life.
The whole process of participating and going to another country to participate in own passion is a great memory.
I would say my greatest memory in all of my math journey is going to the IMO in 2022 in Oslo, Norway. It was a very beautiful and gorgeous country and I met other people that shared my passion and I think it was the best Olympiad. I can't say any particular moment or part of the Olympiad was the greatest moment of it. But I think the whole Olympiad is my greatest memory right now.
GTF: Leaving math Olympiads, what is the biggest piece of advice you can give to someone just starting?
MC: To do math Olympiads, the most important thing is that you like math and you like what you're doing, because the best part of solving a very difficult and abstract problem is not the knowledge you get. It is the satisfaction you feel because of the passion you have.
So if you don't have a passion, you are not going to succeed. If you don't like math, it doesn't matter, you just have to do another thing.
But let's assume you like it and you have a passion for math. To participate in math Olympiads, you have to think about math in a different way. You have to think about it like a topic of creativity and innovation, because solving an Olympic level math problem requires you to have your own creativity.
GTF: How else do you use creativity in your life?
MC: I think I implement it mostly in math, but I do implement creativity in my life in an artistic way because I also like to dance salsa. It is something that needs you to be creative. It's like my hidden hobby. I would say it's like another passion. It just sparkled from nowhere.
I have been dancing for three years now. Actually, in 2022, I took it very seriously and I even participated in some national competitions and won some prizes and awards. Yeah, that was really fun.
I see dancing as something very far from math. It's like two parallel hobbies. I see dancing as something to control my anxiety in a good way because I cannot be sitting for too long without even moving my feet. So I think it's a way to control my energy.
GTF: How do you feel about starting university?
MC: I'm pretty anxious because this was a very difficult process for me, firstly to get the scholarship and secondly, the whole process before going to the university. But I feel very, very excited, not only because of the acceptance of the university, but also because I know how difficult it was for me to get to a university in another country.
I really like the United Kingdom. I've been here for just one day, but I was in love with the country and I'm pretty excited to get to know a country for four years. I think I'm most excited about meeting those new people in the university because I understand and I'm pretty sure the people in university have a big impact.
I'm pretty excited about the course itself because I know the University of Edinburgh is very well known for their math department and I'm gonna get a solid foundation of the topics so I can pursue other topics in the future.
GTF: And do you have any aspirations after university?
MC: Yeah, I have an idea of what I want to do after university because I am really into the computer science world. I like everything about computer science and specifically machine learning and all the topics it includes. I know if you have a pretty solid knowledge of math in a very good university, like the University of Edinburgh, you can more easily understand a scientific topic.
My plan is to get a pretty solid math knowledge in the university and after that, to pursue some technological field like computer science or machine learning. I cannot say a specific field in computer science now because time changes and people change. But, I think right now I'm gonna focus on my math career.
