Sophomore Sophia Shi and junior Kevin Zhu, founders of MEX Magazine, type frantically, adding last-minute touch-ups to the third issue of their magazine. Though they have done this routine many times before, a hint of stress and excitement is still present the night before every issue’s rollout. Just two months ago, they wouldn’t have been able to imagine the level of growth of their project. MEX Magazine, standing for “Math Explained,” is an online magazine, covering everything from math history to in-depth discussions of niche math puzzles, such as the question of how many holes a straw has or deceptive statistics. It has quickly grown in popularity with thousands of views online, giving students new perspectives on an age-old subject: mathematics.
Zhu’s passion for math stemmed from his teachers’ passion, not only sparking his love for learning math but also his desire to convey the same adoration to other students around the world. His enthusiasm has helped motivate him to continuously push out new issues.
“I want to provide others with the experience that my teachers provided me when I was first getting interested in math,” Zhu said.
Zhu first got the idea for MEX Magazine over this summer, after noticing the lack of creative resources for students who may find mathematics uninteresting.
“I realized other areas in academics all have their own magazines,” Zhu said. “I want to bring something interesting and new to the field of math.”
In order to make this idea a reality, he reached out to Shi, a friend from his Ceramics class, who was immediately interested in the idea.
“I thought this would be a good opportunity to research deeper into more unconventional areas in math that I haven’t learned about before,” Shi said.
Zhu and Shi formed a partnership and became co-founders of MEX Magazine in July. That same month, MEX Magazine launched its first issue, publishing on the forums feature of the Art of Problem Solving website. Though it was only one page, the issue covered recent events in the community, such as the 2024 International Math Olympiad and the upcoming American Mathematics Competition 10/12.
When deciding what platform to publish on, Shi and Zhu knew they wanted to reach audiences who appreciated math as much as they did. This led them to the AOPS website which is known for its math programs, classes and textbooks. For those not as familiar with the website, a more obscure feature is the “Community” tab, where MEX Magazine uploads its issues and is often met with thousands of views from the AOPS community.
“In one instance, someone even commented that ‘MEX Magazine keeps math alive,’” Zhu said.
After the publishing of the first issue, Zhu was still the sole writer, and he believed that in order for MEX magazine to reach its potential, it had to recruit more members for the team. Specifically, he was looking for writers and editors to support him in writing the issue and public relations managers to advertise the magazine.
Sophomore Aditi Skandan, the current public relations manager at MEX Magazine, discovered the staff application on Instagram. After receiving the position, she faced a unique challenge: how to advertise math.
“I’ve always loved graphic design, and I’ve worked as a PR manager for many other magazines,” Skandan said. “So when the chance came up to do something for a math magazine, it was something different and I liked the challenge”
Before her experience in MEX Magazine, Skandan did not particularly like learning math. But as she continued to make graphics, she grew more and more interested in the topics they were covering.
“I realized that there might be other people who don’t like math but this magazine shows that even a subject like math can be creative, ” Skandan said.
Through MEX Magazine, Shi and Zhu have gained the attention of the math community and reached opportunities that they never imagined.
“We started from the ground up, just us two,” Zhu said. “We didn’t realize the reach that our program would have. We are getting people from around the globe to read it, and people are actually liking it.”
With their outreach on Discord and their online newsletter, MEX magazine hopes to create a community of math enthusiasts. They are always looking for new ways to make their magazine more interactive and relevant to today’s youth.
“We have some ideas: a podcast, a YouTube channel, longer spreads or interviews with professors, such as award winners and partnerships with math contests or a sponsor, ” Zhu said.
The benefits of mathematics go far beyond the classroom. Shi and Zhu want to continue helping students of all levels develop the capacity to think critically and grow their love for an infamous subject. Though MEX magazine is still in its early stages, Shi and Zhu hope their project continues the effort to make math just as enjoyable to everyone as it is to them.
“We don’t try putting a bar on what we think we can achieve because if we set a bar, we’re limiting ourselves,” Zhu said. “If we can go above it, why not?”
