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Stefano Chiesa Suryanto: The little mathematics wizard
Eleven-year-old Stefano Chiesa Suryanto is just like any other boy his age -- sometimes aloof, and tending to speak only when necessary, yet with a sincerity visible in both his gaze and gestures
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Eleven-year-old Stefano Chiesa Suryanto is just like any other boy his age -- sometimes aloof, and tending to speak only when necessary, yet with a sincerity visible in both his gaze and gestures.
STEFANO CHIESA SURYANTO: (JP/Erwida Maulia)
Yet the bespectacled sixth grader from SD Santa Theresia elementary school in Menteng, Central Jakarta, is far from ordinary when it comes to math.
While most children approach the subject with trepidation, math has always been Stefano's favorite subject since he began school.
His love for it has seen him win 68 trophies and awards at local and international math competitions.
He won his first math contest, organized by Tarumanegara University in Jakarta, when he was still in the third grade.
"Story problems in math are like challenges I have to overcome," Stefano told The Jakarta Post.
He recently became the youngest of five Indonesian students to receive a First Class Honor, equal to a gold medal, at the Po Leung Kok 12th Primary Mathematics World Contest 2008 in Hong Kong.
Earlier in May, he won a gold medal at the 2008 Asia-Pacific Mathematics Olympiad (APMO) for elementary school students in Singapore, following up on a perfect score (gold pin) at the Singapore and ASEAN Schools Math Olympiads (SASMO) in April.
His achievements in winning the gold medal and Best Theory trophy at the prestigious 4th International Mathematics and Science Olympiad (IMSO) for elementary school students in 2007 in Jakarta resulted in the Indonesian Museum of Records awarding him as the youngest Indonesian student to ever win both the medal and the trophy at the IMSO.
Now the "golden boy" of the National Education Ministry, who never seems to tire of participating in math contests, is preparing for the upcoming 2008 IMSO, which will be held in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, in November.
"I want to be a programmer. That requires math," he said.
For Stefano, who has an IQ of 145, saying he wants to become a programmer is not just idle chatter.
His second interest after math, he said, was "puttering around with computers". His parents even hired a private tutor to teach him programming.
Stefano, whose idols are "all inventors and especially Bill Gates", has now successfully made several programs of his own.
He said his decision to become a programmer was in part inspired by his 15-year-old brother Bernando Vialli Suryanto, who participated in the 2003 ASEAN Mathematics and Science Olympiad (AMSO) for elementary school students and went on to win a national programming competition for junior high school students.
Bernando also received a scholarship from the Singaporean government and is now continuing his studies in Singapore.
Besides private programming lessons, Stefano also has private lessons in English, Mandarin and math in preparation for the Olympiad, having earlier completed the Kumon and Sakamoto math courses.
Stefano's father, Ary Suryanto, 57, said Stefano's interest in math and disdain for video games and other pastimes favored by children his age, was a result of the "indoctrination" he and his wife put Stefano through when he was still five-years-old.
"We indoctrinated the kids, Stefano and Bernando, telling them life would be very difficult in the future. We made them understand they would thus need to study hard. We told them material possessions would go to waste if they weren't smart," Ary said.
"My wife often tells them success stories of famous people. The kids are motivated to study because they believe studying is important."
Stefano's life, however, is not all math and no play.
Every once in a while he plays badminton with his father, reads his favorite books about animals and watches his favorite cartoons on weekends.
And his boisterous childhood nature is something he still retains.
"I like playing football with my friends at school. There's no way I could bring my computer everywhere I go," he said.
