In MLA, we aim to develop the Mathematical abilities of our members beyond the curriculum, and to also provide leadership opportunities for all.

All members have the autonomy to decide what competitions or enrichment programmes they wish to take up at MLA. There are a wide range of opportunities for you to extend and broaden your capabilities in Mathematics such as the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad (SMO). Our teachers are extremely generous with their help and SMO training will be provided for our members. 

Besides that, there are also opportunities to stretch your abilities further, such as IMMC (International Mathematical Modeling Challenge), SMP (Science Mentorship Programme) (Sec), NRP (Nanyang Research Programme) (JC) and many more, which all put our skills to the test by solving real-world problems. To nurture leaders of the future, there are opportunities for you to step up and develop your leadership skills by facilitating internal workshops or leading your own committee and working alongside the ExCo and teachers!

In MLA, you have the chance to lead and plan for activities such as workshops for the secondary levels. Under the myMLA initiative, members are encouraged and supported to propose your own committee and lead in the planning of various events for the other members of MLA, such as the MLA camp, student-led workshops, and more! Some existing committees are: Publicity, Camaraderie, Python Programming, R Programming, Research, etc.

We also organise the annual STEM FEST, a collaboration with SLA, where MLA members will get an opportunity to be a part of the organising committee and plan a National STEM competition for Primary 6 students. 

There is an expectation of a responsible MLA member to have good self-leadership, proactively learning about Maths in greater breadth and depth through competitions, research and grounds-up initiatives.

As mentioned during the sharing, JC MLA students will be involved in organising RV STEM Fest in collaboration with the Science Leaders Academy. RV STEM Fest is a nation-wide competition for primary 6 students, where they put their knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to the test.

My fondest memory in MLA would definitely be the time when I led my peers to organise the River Valley Mathematics Challenge (RVMC) 2022. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we had to shift it online unlike past batches. Nonetheless, we did not back down from the challenge, everyone shared their ideas actively and we persevered to make it a success! Many of us gain valuable leadership insights through organising the competition. Besides that, another invaluable experience I had was participating in the inaugural Singapore International Mathematical and Computational Challenge (SIMC2.0), the successor to the Singapore International Mathematics Challenge (SIMC). As Secondary 4s, my team and I participated in the Senior Section, meant for 16 to 18 years old, most of the other competitors in Singapore and around the world were older than us, and the questions were really tough, testing concepts like ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations. Nevertheless, we rose to the challenge and emerged as one of the top teams, we were also one of the two teams, whose solutions received special commendation during the closing ceremony. From the competition, we gained a lot, we learnt to adapt based on circumstances, grasping concepts on the spot, and work as a team to complement each other, which were all really useful skills that I still use till this day. We learnt to not doubt our own abilities, don't be intimidated by competition, as long as you set your mind on something and work hard towards it, you'll taste the fruit of success. In conclusion, throughout my 4 years in MLA, I have gained many invaluable insights, not just learning to solve complex mathematics problems, but also picking up essential life skills to prepare me for the future. I am glad to have chosen to join MLA! 

For me, I would say that the most memorable experience was participating in the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge. It is a competition where we had to solve problems with mathematical modelling. I managed to work with 3 other friends during the March Holidays to solve the problem on how we could best use a piece of land that was assigned to us. We came up with metrics and models to quantify each different type of use of the land, such as for sports, food, accomodation and farming. I learnt a lot some soft skills such as team work, critical thinking, and time management as well as hard skills such as report writing, mathematical modelling and programming. These skills are very applicable even outside of the competition. One example is where I used my mathematical modelling skills to create a well-balanced chess rating system. I have grown a lot in MLA, and I am glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone to grasp the many rare opportunities that are offered to me in MLA.

MLA has provided so many different meaninful opportunities for me. I have gotten the chance to lead as an exco and interact with people with the same burning passion for Mathematics. Thanks to MLA, there are various of different competitions and programmes that I have managed to take part in such as IMMC, SIMC, SMP, Graphing Calculator competitions and many more. These competitions have challenges me to step out of my comfort zone, learn new skills and knowledge and to even work with fellow MLA students from different levels. I was also able to develop my leadership skills and promote Mathematics through myMLA initiatives like creating events like a math quiz scavenger hunt and morigami (math x origami). I was also part of Camardarie committe where we plan fun bonding games for MLA students from S3-J2 to allow everyone to become closer as an MLA family! Through all these opportunities, I have grown as a person and MLA still continues to fuel my passion for Mathematics. 

One of the fondest memory I have in MLA will be planning bonding activities for the S2s as a S3 senior! It was such a great learning opportunity for us to plan and execute an event, and it especially helped me grow a lot both as a team player and as a leader. Most importantly, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I felt when I saw how much my juniors enjoyed the activities is something I hold close to my heart and will never forget! Through my years as an MLA member, I definitely grew a lot through the numerous opportunities like organising events such as RVMC, joining competitions and attending workshops and learning journeys, and am really thankful to get to meet a group of tight-knitted, like-minded friends, who share the same passion for Mathematics as me.