City Council Applauds Young Math Whiz

Tulita Elementary School student Holden Orias, who lives in Hermosa Beach with his parents, grinned from ear to ear Tuesday night as Mayor Michael DiVirgilio presented him with a certificate of recognition for representing the city in the national Math Kangaroo competition this year.

DiVirgilio invited Holden to sit next to him in City Councilman Patrick "Kit" Bobko's seat at the Council Chambers before presenting the award. Holden said it felt "very nice" to sit there. 

"The gentleman that you replaced isn't so good at math," DiVirgilio said. "Maybe you can tutor him, would you like that?"

"That would be nice," Holden replied as Bobko chuckled at the two teasing him.

The Math Kangaroo competition was held in March at UCLA, and structured as a multiple-choice test. Holden placed 1st after all of the tests administered nationwide were counted, awarding him the competition's Certificate of Excellence.

"What do you like about math," DiVirgilio asked Holden.

"I just like math because I have a very good teacher, which is my mom," Holden said.

According to Holden's second-grade teachers at Tulita, his parents have been a monumental influence in their son's academic success. "He has an incredible talent for math, and his parents... cultivate it," Holden's teacher Mindy Elman told Patch in June. 

With his parents' support, the youngster has a bright future ahead of him, according to Elman. She said that at the school's "career day," Holden expressed an interest in studying medicine and becoming a doctor in the future.

"I think it will be interesting to see what becomes of him," she said. "He's going to do good things for the world."