Cebuano Math wizard also prays hard

This 10-year-old Math wizard prays hard.

William Joshua G. King, a grade six pupil of the Bethany Christian School won a merit award in the Bulgaria International Mathematics Competition (BIMC) in the Black Sea city of Burgas last June 30 to July 5.

He attributes his achievements to studying hard and prayer. “You must remember Psalms 127:1 which says, Unless the Lord builds the house, builders will labor in vain,” said William Joshua.

“That means, no matter how hard you study, if you don’t acknowledge the Lord, nothing will come of it. Praise be the Lord in all honor and glory,” King added.

William Joshua is the eldest of two kids of John and Joy Christine King. He won a merit award in BIMC together with four others from Philippine National Science High School, Jubilee Christian Academy, MGC New Life Christian Academy and Ateneo de Manila University. The Keystage II Team B of the Philippines Team landed second runner up.

The Philippine team harvested 16 awards in the competition.

William Joshua wants to pursue his studies in a top US university. Aside from tinkering with numbers, he is also working to improve his reading comprehension and likes to write essays.

“I’d like to have a high SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) because if you don’t have it, you won’t get in. I’d like to have a good resumé,” King said. SAT is a standardized test required for most college admissions in the US.

“I don’t want to give any burdens to my family. I’d like to go to the US after high school to get a scholarship if God’s will be done,” said King who comes from an affluent family.

At first, I really didn’t like it. I came at 9 o’clock when it supposed to start at 8 and ends at 10,” King said.

“It was in grade 3 when I joined again and I had an interest for it,” he added.

He first joined a Math competition when he was first grader. His dad encouraged him to join Saturday trainings given by the Mathematics Teachers Association of the Philippines (MTAP).

He also joined the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild of the Philippines (MTG) where he vastly improved his knowledge in Math.

Before the competition in Bulgaria, he said that he studied at least four days a week.

“When you study, it’s not always like you get it, but it’s because of God’s blessings. Praise God,” King said.

In MTG, William Joshua said that they went through three stages, the entrance exam for the Saturday training, then in-house training, then Manila training.

Since he was six years old, he has been into local competitions and he joined international competitions when he was eight. However, things did not all go smoothly for him.

“It’s not always a win. Nothing is guaranteed. You always have to pray to God because life is just like a wheel. You’re sometimes up and sometimes down. You’re not always on the top and you’re not always at the bottom. You always study hard,” King said.

King at this very young age says that when competing academically, it is not just all about studying, but a person has to be physically, mentally and spiritually fit, and he credits his school for helping him walk in the Lord’s ways always.

As a student, William Joshua is always in the top five of his class. He was accelerated twice, that is why at the age of 10, he is already in grade six.

King’s favorite subjects are Mathematics, Science and Civics.

William Joshua championed the ENOPI competition Cebu when he was grade 2, won a bronze award in grade 3 while he garnered Bronze and Merit awards in grades 4 and 5 in the Singapore International Math Competition.

He was also the top scorer in February’s MTAP competition.

The recent competition in Bulgaria was attended by representatives from 29 countries including US, Canada, China, Taiwan and many more.

It was attended by 592 competitors. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent