TALLULAH FALLS, Ga. — Two Tallulah Falls School students are earning recognition for their performance in recent regional mathematics competitions.
Stasa Millisavljevic of Cacak, Serbia, and Joan Hernandez Espina of Vilaseca, Spain, represented the school in multiple events this academic year, advancing through competitive rounds and earning top honors.
In October, the Tallulah Falls School math team competed in Part I of the Kennesaw State University High School Math Competition. Millisavljevic and Hernandez both qualified to advance to Round II of the contest, which was held in February. Results from that round are still pending.
More recently, the two students competed in the University of North Georgia High School Math Competition on March 6. Students must first complete an online qualifying exam to earn a place in the on-campus tournament.
The UNG competition includes three challenging sessions — Ciphering, Creative Problem Solving and Data Science — designed to test advanced mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Hernandez earned first place for his score on the online multiple-choice exam.
“In the competition, I was really nervous,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t know how it was going to be. When they told me how many questions to answer in such a short time, I just kept calm and did the multiple-choice questions, like I usually do.”
He credited math team sponsor Linda Harris for helping him stay focused.
“Ms. Harris taught me to relax, take my time, and finish the problems,” Hernandez said. “It was a really good experience. Ms. Harris is a really good teacher.”
Harris, who sponsors the TFS math team, said both students showed strong commitment while preparing for the competitions.
“We had multiple practice sessions after school,” Harris said. “They faithfully spent time after school and even took class time to complete the practice test. I am always grateful when students are willing to face this kind of challenge. It is out-of-the-box thinking — so advanced.”
Harris has supported mathematics instruction at Tallulah Falls School for more than 55 years. She said competitions like these allow students to explore mathematical concepts beyond the traditional classroom curriculum.
“They get to see what kind of math is out there,” Harris said. “If they can succeed in these competitions, it is truly impressive.”
