Filipino MIT graduate who got perfect GPA asserts math can reduce pandemic impacts

Farrell Eldrian Wu, 21, is no ordinary mathematical genius. He has honored the Philippines with various awards, including the country's first gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad.

"What I love about math has really changed over time," Wu said. "I was happy as soon as I was able to fix the problems. I just had the feeling that computational intensity can be very attractive."

In June of this year, Wu graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, considered the world's leading university, with a super grade of 5.0. "I went to MIT when I was 17 years old. That changed about 4 years ago. I majored in computer science and business analytics. ”

It is no secret for Wu to earn an appropriate GPA, but he attributed his achievement to the strong teaching and problem-solving foundation he received from MGC New Life Christian Academy in Taguig City. Completing his excessive schooling. He is equally grateful for the rigorous training he received of teachers and running shoes from the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University, which organized him for world mathematics competitions.

"After the lecture , I usually go through my notes to make sure that now I can't skip anything anymore and I can see what the teacher just said, but also the big picture. I even have a surefire question to ask myself after every class. "

The MIT graduate's recent achievement went viral on social media, particularly when Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo congratulated him on Facebook. The subject stated that his daughter Jillian and Wu participated in math competitions in the neighborhood. Robredo argued that Wu was very benevolent in giving back to the community.

We said, “At that time, I found out that the Jessie Robredo Foundation was building conference rooms in remote regions in each of their programs... Due to my popularity as a math candidate, I could tutor students for a fee and while at the same time I can donate this money to the Jessie Robredo Foundation."

Wu turned his passion and into a social advocacy through the creation of Operation MATHew, an academic organization that trains and mentors public university students in underserved communities.

The math genius is also happy to be able to use math to solve real lifestyle problems, primarily to mitigate the effects of the COVID19 pandemic. “I'm looking at interventions that could decrease or have the least financial impact, in terms of lockdowns, network quarantines, but at the same time reducing the largest COVID cases. I hope this provides access to a variety of... data. ”

Wu moved from Massachusetts to Chicago, Illinois, where he was applying for a three- and twelve-month internship with a money company. He has advice to those wishing to study abroad. "Just be passionate about something. These colleges like to see people who are really passionate about what they do."

Paul Garilao | TFC News USA

August 13, 2021