Two teams from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts earned recognition at the 2023 University of Arkansas High School Programming Contest on March 11.
Teams work to solve sets of problems that require students to write programming using Java in a short period of time. Teams work to solve the problems as quickly as possible. They may resubmit their answers if their first attempts are incorrect.
The team of junior Brent Orlina of Little Rock and seniors Robert Boerwinkle and Vicky Zhu, both of El Dorado, placed second, solving seven of the eight problems. The team was close to solving its eighth problem, but was unable to do so.
Boerwinkle said the competition was a great opportunity to increase his skills and learn new algorithms. “This competition was a great way to stretch skills I don’t usually use. It’s a good opportunity to practice for the Governor’s All-State Coding Competition and to get to know our competition. Now I have a game plan.”
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Orlina agreed with Boerwinkle, saying the event was a good combination of learning and fun.
“The competition allowed me to not only practice my kills but also collaborate and learn from other people. It was a fun event, and I got to see the university and the impressive professors,” Orlina said.
The team of juniors James Mathis of Russellville, Parker Hance of Conway and Jack Smith of Jacksonville received the Most Creative Solution Award for their use of a little-known library function, isProbablePrime, instead of writing their own isPrime function as most other teams.
“The competition gave me an opportunity to work on my teamwork skills and get experience working without tools that I normally take for granted,” Mathis said.
ASMSA sent 12 students on four teams to the competition which featured 22 teams from across the state. Having a chance to meet and compete against other students from other schools made the competition special, said Geoff Williams, a junior from Magnolia.
“The competition allowed me insight into my own ability as a programmer by competing with many others of varying skill levels and caused me to form connections with other programmers around the state,” Williams said.
Jayden Patel, a junior from Blytheville, said being part of the competition allowed him to develop several skills. “Being a part of this competition hardened my teamwork and leadership skills while teaching us the valuable lessons of staying dedicated and managing stress,” he said.