Alex Song: A Beautiful Mind

It is difficult to stay humble when you are one of the best high school mathematicians in the world, not to mention a scientific magician and multi-club co-head; but with his genial, modest persona, senior Alex Song is able to do just that.Song, a four year senior in Ewald, first considered attending the Academy after he moved with his parents to Canada, compelling him to look for a new school of choice. Four years later, it seems he made the right choice.One of Song’s main interests is mathematics, a passion he developed at an early age. In third grade, Song participated in the Canadian Open Mathematics Competition, and has since been actively participating in various high school competitions, including the International Mathematics Olympiad.“I first participated in the IMO in seventh grade and I represented Canada,” Song said. “Since then, I participated in the IMO four more times and received gold medals each year. I was lucky enough to participate a lot.”Song is currently ranked fourth in the IMO Hall of Fame, with the record of four gold medals and one bronze medal.Competitions, however, are only some of the vehicles Song utilizes to satiate his love for mathematics. Along with his frequent participation in high-level math competitions, Song engages in various activities involving mathematics both on and off campus.Song is particularly fond of sharing the knowledge and information of the study with other students and his peers; he serves as a student mentor of PEA’s Math Club, and in the past, he has helped as a peer tutor as well as a tutor for numerous mathematics camps.Senior Sabrina Movitz, who received assistance from Song in a peer tutoring session, noted Song’s dedication to helping others as well as his thorough explanations.“My lower winter, I went to peer tutoring and asked Alex if he could help me find an equation for a problem I was having trouble with. Instead of telling me the equation right away, Alex sat me down and had me solve problems and understand proofs in order to fully comprehend the problem I was solving,” Movitz said. “Afterwards I felt incredible. It felt like I did my first math workout of my life.”Upper Kevin Sun, who is a member of Math Club and participated in the 2013 and 2014 IMO with Song, said that Song offers new perspectives and insights when considering solutions for a problem.“Having been taught by him, I can say that he is a great teacher,” Sun said. “Being one of the top math students in the country, he teaches us a lot in Math Club, and he never ceases to provide us with ideas.”Similarly, Song helped Exonians prepare for regional mathematics tournaments with his impressive motivation and planning.“During the American Regional Mathematics League tournament he was a big help, not only because he is one of the best math students at Exeter, but also because he kept everyone focused,” senior Elizabeth Wei said. “We all did practice tests and during them he had everything really organized; he knows the drill and did a great job leading us through it.”In previous years, Song has also traveled down to New Haven with mathematics instructor Zuming Feng to help Feng teach a mathematics course to undergraduates in Yale University.Song’s math skills may be incredibly impressive, but they are not his only strong suit. During his time at Exeter, Song has excelled in other studies, including biology and physics.“Alex is formidable in Science Quiz Bowl competitions because he not only has a wide range of knowledge about bio/chem/physics but also nails all calculation questions,” science instructor and Science Quiz Bowl adviser Townley Chisholm said. “Anytime a calculation question is asked, he hits the buzzer as soon as all the essential information has been given and then works the problem in the very few seconds between his hitting the buzzer and the moderator calling on him. Watching him in action is a ton of fun.”Even with everything on his plate, from international math competitions to advanced biology, Song never loses sight of his enjoyable yet thoughtful approach to whatever task is at hand, an aspect of his personality that is hard to forget.“Alex leads with quiet competence and he is always, always polite and considerate of others,” Chisholm said. “I really enjoy his sense of humor and the way he interacts with other students.”Wei added, “He is very enthusiastic about math and knows how to have fun with it, but at the same time takes it very seriously.”Both his strong intellectual skills and light-hearted attitude make Song one of the most dignified students on campus.