Katie Chen is the first dual program completer at Kumon of Los Alamitos finishing both the math & reading curriculum as an 8th grader, according to her Kumon instructor, Naomi Rockenmacher.
She was able to skip a grade in math since 6th grade because she finished Calculus in the Kumon curriculum. She is currently enrolled in Algebra II / Trig as a 9th grader at Los Alamitos High School.
Katie is also a delegate of the Model United Nations (https://unausa.org/model-un/) where she is assigned a country to research and offer solutions to current affairs.
She has earned two 1st place awards for “ best delegate “ in reducing food waste and combating cyber terrorism, said Rochenmacher.
In addition, Katie participates in Science Olympiad where students are tested on their knowledge on various science subjects and topics. She was tested on her knowledge of water quality & ornithology and earned 17th place for water quality, and 21st place for ornithology out of 85 contestants, according to Rockenmacher.
She is awaiting notification to learn if she will move on to regionals.
Currently she is preparing for the AMC 10 math competition in February, where students take a math test and the winner will be the highest scoring candidate.
Outside of academics, she is also an accomplished pianist playing for 9 years, earning a certificate of merit, and has also competed in various competitions.