Forced labor. Constant surveillance. Starvation camps. My 25-year-old dad decided to leave. He was disgusted by the idea of spending the rest of his life in the country in which he grew up, where neighbors betrayed each other to the secret police in hopes of gaining government favor and two million people died of hunger from the socialist economy’s perpetual inability to produce food. My dad dreamt of coming to America; even the Iron Curtain could not prevent the...

Competing in math taught me how to think. I often tell people that if I had not participated in math competitions since the third grade, I would lack most of my current mental capabilities. Today, due to my high school’s lack of an adequately funded and coached math team, I consider myself primarily a debater, but before high school, “mathlete” was my identity. Competitive math gave me some of my best friends and most influential role models, as well...