This past weekend marked the successful culmination of another NYSML (New York State Mathematics League). During the opening ceremony this year, multiple speakers made references to Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat.

The premise of this book is that the information explosion that has happened in the last 10 years has transformed the business arena into a fast paced global free-for-all. While I agree with the premise of the book, and recommend it as a must read, I believe NYSML is actually a quintessential example of why the US will not be left behind in this global transformation.

I have been attending NYSML since I was 13, which makes the 2006 NYSML the 9th consecutive NYSML that I’ve attended. Over the course of these 9 years, I have made many great friends, received job offers, and even had bouts of romances because of NYSML. However, what has been most gratifying to me in the past 9 years is watching new groups of kids and coaches come to NYSML each year on an early Saturday morning, for no other reason than their passion and enthusiasm for mathematics.

As NYSML 2006 ended, and a new leadership team (including the hilariously witty George Reuter) is put in place; I am excited and relieved to see that even though the world is now flat, the US is still very much in the race.