The Student Newspaper of Oxford Academy

The Gamut

The Gamut

The Gamut

Joshua Jang: Oxford Academy’s STEM Genius

Above+and+Beyond%3A+Joshua+Jang+%2810%29+takes+on+vice+president+of+OA+ECO+club%2C+one+of+his+seven+clubs+this+year.+
Dy Nguyen
Above and Beyond: Joshua Jang (10) takes on vice president of OA ECO club, one of his seven clubs this year.

Having already completed Calculus AB in 4th grade, sophomore Joshua Jang is well ahead of the typical 10th grade curriculum. 

 

Jang began looking into higher level AMC math competitions in the 2nd and 3rd grade. These initial competitions sparked his interest in math topics such as algebra, number theory, and geometry. Switching from the standard school curriculum to a competition-based focus provided a fresh start for his academic journey.  

 

“This new area of math was one where I found a lot of passion and began pursuing competitively,” said Jang. 

 

Jang completed Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and Multivariable Calculus at Cypress College in elementary school, furthering his success at higher level math competitions. After placing first at ARML (American Regions Mathematics League), Berkeley Math Tournament, and other AMC (American Mathematics Competitions) tournaments, Jang continues to follow his passion and participate in math events. 

 

“I would say my biggest academic accomplishment so far is at USAMO (United States of America Mathematical Olympiad). I’ve qualified for four consecutive years, starting from the sixth grade,” said Jang. 

 

The USAMO is a prestigious national association that selects the top 250 students all across the country based on their AMC exam scores. Qualification is rare and considered one of the most distinguished accomplishments for high school students. As for Jang, qualifying was a breeze following his perfect score on the AMC 10 exam in 2021. 

 

Jang isn’t just a math prodigy — he is also proactive in many other extracurriculars, serving as an executive board member for seven clubs at Oxford including Korean Culture Awareness, Environmental Conservation Organization, and Computational Modeling to name a few. He is in his first year as a yearbook staffer and in his second year of playing boys varsity tennis at Oxford. Outside of school, Jang serves as the high school math director of the Orange County Math Circle and captain of the Southern California ARML team. 

 

“I have a lot of extracurriculars, but I think in terms of time management, it works out — it’s manageable.”

 

Jang is a bright scholar with many academic accomplishments — but he isn’t stopping there. With the support of his parents, friends, and teachers, he expects to achieve much more in the near future.

 

“Next semester, I’ll probably be taking a graduate level course for statistics. In the long term, I hope to pursue a career in the computer science or finance field.”

About the Contributor
Rachel Yoon, Opinion Editor
Joining during the quarantine year after encouragement from her English teacher, Rachel Yoon, a junior at Oxford Academy, is currently in her third year as a Gamut staff member. Skilled in both the arts and writing, she has both written and illustrated for the Gamut before. Rachel likes to paint and draw as a hobby but finds that writing is an easier way to put down her thoughts. She also has an interest in math, recently starting a math blog in hopes of helping others in the subject. With a strained relationship with the app TikTok—deleting it and redownloading it multiple times due to concerning screentime—she watches many cooking videos. As such, Rachel is an avid cook who cooks for herself and her family, following internet-famous cooks like Doobydobap and Cafehailee for inspiration. Despite this, Rachel is a baking hater, finding it a stressful medium compared to cooking’s forgiveness; cooking is a way to keep her focused and productive. Multi-talented and well-rounded, Rachel is serving as this year’s opinion editor!
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Joshua Jang: Oxford Academy’s STEM Genius