Omar Alejandro Chavez Campos, a native of Huejotitan, a tiny rural village located on the far edge of the municipality of Jocotepec, has become a local hero after his recent return from an international science confab held last month in the United Arab Emirates with a major award for Mexico.
Chavez was the leader of the three-man team that earned the top award in the category Mathematical Science at the Expo-Sciences International Abu Dhabi 2013. In his role as didactic advisor, he guided companions Ricardo Emanuel Velasco Castellanos and Diego Salazar Loera in developing the research project Rincon A3 + HM, an innovative method for teaching math to grade school children. The approach to helping kids master the thorniest of academic subjects involves play, interaction with the student’s physical surroundings and tapping into each child’s innate learning abilities.
The young math whiz is currently studying to earn his teaching degree at Guadalajara’s Instituto Nueva Galicia.