Graduate Q&A: Leaders of the pack

A.C. Flora High School seniors Hardie Cate and Elliot Chartock are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in South Carolina, and among the highest in the Southeast region, based on numerous math competitions held this past year.

Hardie has a grade-point average of 5.46, the highest in Flora’s history.

Both were on a math team that won the prestigious Duke University Math Competition.

Both have been accepted to Harvard, Yale, and Stanford to continue their math studies.

It looks like both are headed to Stanford.

So, we decided to talk with them both, in this final installment of Q&As with Midlands high school graduates. Previously published Q&As are at thestate.com/graduation.

Where did the two of you first meet? What were your impressions of the other?

Cate and Chartock: “We first met in seventh grade in Mr. (John) Rushman’s class who was our math teacher at the time (at Crayton Middle). Elliott had just moved to Columbia from Boston. I remember that we competed with each other on each little test and quiz.

We understand you both have a passion for math. Tell us about that.

Chartock: “I have enjoyed math for as long as I can remember. My first sign of pattern recognition/interest was in kindergarten when I recognized that a calendar increased by 7 as the days went down a column. However it was really Mr. Rushman in eighth grade who transcended my love for math. He got me involved in the Middle School Math Counts program. And after thousands of practice problems, the hard work paid off when I won state Math Counts in eighth grade. Since then, Mr. (Patrick) Rybarczyk — or Mr.R as we call him — has brought my interest to a new level with fun practices and cool new strategies and ideas.”

Cate: “I’ve always liked math and how it challenges me. I enjoy the sense of accomplishment gained from solving a difficult problem on my own. Each problem is like a puzzle and often times you have to be creative in how you reach a solution. For me, the more I learn in math, the greater my appreciation is for math and its uses.”

How many digits of Pi can you recite?

Chartock: “I once won an apple pie for memorizing the first 100 digits of pi. I could currently only recite about 30 of them though.”

You’ve both won a lot of honors in math. Which one are you most proud of?

Cate and Chartock: “Qualifying for USA Math Olympiad was certainly the biggest individual accomplishment for both of us. (Cate) was 0.5 points short of qualifying his freshman year and Chartock was 0.5 points short of qualifying his junior year out of a possible 300 points. As a team, we won the USC and Furman contests all four years of high school. We were really proud of the sweep and hope Flora can continue the streaks next year.”

If you could only keep one object from high school for a box of treasured possessions, what would it be, and why?

Cate: “If I could only keep one object, it would be the plaque I received for making the All-Region cross country team. It’s a cool plaque and it symbolizes my hard work to reach that point.”

Tell us about your plans after high school.

Chartock: “I am attending Stanford University with my major undeclared. Right now I am leaning toward possibly majoring in mathematics or computer science, but that could easily change.”

Cate: “I am also attending Stanford University. I am planning to major in physics, but if I especially enjoy my math courses I could major in math instead.”

Chartock: Our choices (on Stanford) were actually independent of each other. (Cate) was ultimately deciding between Yale and Stanford, and I was down to Harvard, Yale and Stanford. He went out there early April with his dad to look at the school and ended up deciding on Stanford after seeing all it has to offer. I went in October to see it initially and then went again in late April once I had been accepted and just fell in love with the school. Personally I didn’t apply for any scholarships and I don’t think (Cate) did either, but I could be wrong. To my knowledge they only do need-based financial aid. No merit scholarships. We are both really excited to have another four years with each other though. Our competitiveness with each other has pushed each one of us farther than we thought we could go.”

Chartock:

Cate:

What’s the biggest life lesson you learned from a teacher?

Chartock: “Throughout high school I have had many conflicts between math, family, athletics, student government, and other miscellaneous activities. My math coach Mr. Rybarczyk has taught me important lessons about priorities and commitment.”

Cate: “‘Preparation is the key to success.’ Mr. Rushman, my middle school math coach, stressed this lesson every single day. He taught me how valuable preparation is, especially for succeeding in math contests. It was from him that I developed a strong work ethic that continued in high school under Mr. Rybarczyk. I’ve worked thousands of math problems outside of school, and it has really paid off.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Graduate Q&A: Leaders of the pack."