Freshman Jiahe Liu is the first Beachwood student ever to qualify for the USA Junior Mathematics Olympiad (USAJMO).

He did more than qualify. He finished among the top 12 students in North America. 

Each November, Beachwood students that are enrolled in a Honors or AP math course are required to take the American Mathematics Competition. Doing well in this competition is the prerequisite for the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME). 

Students in the 9-10 grade who perform the best on the AIME qualify for USAJMO. 

Liu advanced through each of these levels.

“I was kind of surprised about my recognition,” Jiahe Liu said. 

Liu has always been exceptionally gifted in mathematics. 

“Seeing Jiahe every day in BC Calculus, I quickly learned not to be surprised by anything he says or does,” BC Calculus teacher Jeff Luce wrote in an email.”

Liu says that he taught himself much of the complex mathematics that he knows, utilizing the internet and other resources. 

Luce went on to say that the math problems on these tests are of such difficulty that he, someone who managed to get a perfect score on the math section on the ACT, never qualified for the AIME.

Liu describes the questions as “pretty hard”, and said that he was extremely focused while taking the exam. When asked of his next steps and what he hopes to accomplish in math, Liu says he plans to attend a math camp he qualified for with the AIME this summer, and he seeks to pursue a career in the field.