MZ: I think I started participating in fifth grade. That was my first time at the National stage. I was little, and it was such an odd experience. Since then, I've tried to do better each year. In seventh grade, I succeeded in winning a gold medal and then qualified for the selection test for the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO).
Then, there was a pause due to the pandemic in 10th grade. In 10th grade, I succeeded in winning the first prize at the National Romanian Olympiad in math and qualified for the selection test for the IMO. In 11th grade, I participated in the EGMO and won silver medals.
I also took part in many international contests, not just Olympiads, such as the Romania Master of Mathematics and the Zhautykov Olympiad. There was one contest where we competed as a team of three Olympiad students from our country against teams from around the world. It was like the IMO but for teams.
MZ: I think the experience has definitely changed. When you're little, you don't really see it the same way. Back then, it was more about the competition, with parents and teachers motivating you to do better. You didn't have much time to socialize or see how others approach problems.
But as you grow up and go to international Olympiads, you start meeting people from other countries. You realize that Olympiads aren't just about being the best or getting a perfect score; it's about exchanging ideas and seeing how other people approach math. After the contests, we discuss the problems and the different ways to solve them. It's fun to see how many people around the world are eager to share their ideas and enthusiasm.
MZ: Yeah, definitely. In Romania, since fifth grade, we've practically been the same people competing with each other. Over time, we've grown our own community. We discuss problems from our contests and exchange ideas. It's fun competing with them because you have to think for yourself, but there's also a bonding between us.
MZ: The biggest challenge is overcoming your failures and shortcomings. The journey of Olympiads and contests isn't a straight line; it's full of ups and downs. You need to see your mistakes from a positive point of view and learn what you could have done better. I've made many mistakes in Olympiads, probably more than successes. The most important thing is not to give up. For example, in 11th grade, I didn't qualify for the simulation test, which was hard for me. But I tried to do better and speak with others, and in 12th grade, I won the first prize at the Romanian Olympiad and qualified as the top participant for the EGMO, which is my best achievement so far.
MZ: The mindset should be that every time you see a problem, no matter how easy or hard it appears, you need to write the whole solution with all the explanations. I used to skip problems thinking they were too easy, but in real contests under time pressure, you might not make it if you didn't practice enough. You need to practice both easy and hard problems equally.
MZ: Well, I have to admit that it's a bit scary. It will be so different from how I've been taught in high school and living in another country with people from all over the world. But I'm excited. Since I was little, I've always dreamed of studying abroad, so I've grown up with that idea. I'm just a bit scared of how it's actually going to be. I've been watching so many videos about the first day in college and what to know before coming to college. I want to prepare myself, but I also want to have my own experience and make the best of it.
MZ: I think making new friends. I've always wanted to be friends with people from many different cultures. In my country, there's not much tourism, so you don't really get the chance to meet people from other cultures. I really want to experience that, talk to all kinds of people, and see who I'd like to be friends with.
Also, I am looking forward to classes. In 11th grade, I was mesmerized by linear algebra. I got a perfect score on a question on this topic in the Romanian Olympiad, and started reading a book about it this summer. There’s much more to learn, though, and I would really like to expand my knowledge in linear algebra.
I also really love to research. I like the idea of being challenged. I am a person that can get bored and that always has to do something. And doing math is always interesting. Math is infinite and you can always come up with new problems and new hypotheses and you're never bored.
MZ: I'm really into writing. I've participated in many creative writing contests and I post short stories and essays monthly. I'm part of an association for young writers in Romania. Besides writing, I love traveling. I want to visit at least five countries on each continent by the end of my life.
MZ: I think writing is another sort of math because of the way I try to think of how some characters interact. And in my mind it’s especially similar when I am choosing my words. I spend so much time on choosing my words because I want it to sound very harmonic. And I think that's a very mathematical thinking. Behind the scenes I try to be so precise in conveying my ideas or my emotions. I think there is definite overlap.
