M ath Club allows for the development of certain math skills and allows students to explore the branches of math through contests, guest speakers, college tournaments, and the continuous practice of exercising one’s brain.

“Math Club is an exciting club where members get to explore the different aspects of math and they get to see that math is more than just what is covered in high school, and it is actually something that can be quite fun,” junior Shaunak Bhandarkar, Vice President of Math Club, said.

Math club provides a different perspective on how students view math, as it provides a comfortable environment to explore the whimsical side of math, contrasting with the biting atmosphere of a math test, thus illustrating that it can be quite enjoyable, according to Bhandarkar.

“We like to create cool applications of math [in Math Club]- in areas like cryptography, computer science, art or even gambling,” Bhandarkar said.

Math Club additionally helps foster new attitudes towards math, and helps students understand that math is useful in all aspects of study, despite their future career choices.

“Math Club is a pathway to many different things… and will help you approach problems and learn how to exercise your minds,” Bhandarkar said.

Throughout the year, the officers of Math Club do their best to host a plethora of activities for members to showcase their skills and talents. They hold frequent lunch competitions, and encourage members to participate in the AMCs, hosted at HHS. Math Club additionally organizes participation in college tournaments, such as the Santa Clara Math Tournament or the Berkeley Math Tournament, according to Bhandarkar.

This semester, Math Club hosted their first speake, allowing members to learn from an experienced math professional, and see the various applications of math firsthand. This experience was additionally open for all HHS students.

“Our speaker is the head of the Oiler Math Circle, a graduate from Stanford, an all round mathematician,has broad research areas and he’s also a Homestead alumni… the topic for our first speaker is games…it’s really going to be interesting to explore the different types of applications in math with him,” Bhandarkar said.

Math Club hosts many opportunities with the goal of sharpening the math skills needed for future classes and careers in members.

“Athletes have to go to practice every single day because practice is what makes perfect, and it is what enables them to develop their strategies. Similarly, in the Math Club, we learn to exercise our minds,” Bhandarkar said.