One of Ferdinand Postma High School’s IT programmers, Kenna Geleta, a grade 12 learner, was recently given the massive honour of representing South Africa at the 34th IOI (International Olympiad of Informatics), hosted by Indonesia from 7-14 August.
Kenna was chosen by the Board of the Institute of Information Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) and is one of five learners chosen from SA to represent their country. The event will be hosted on a virtual basis.
The International Olympiad in Informatics is an international algorithmic competition where exceptional high school students compete to sharpen their informatics skills. This includes programming, testing, problem analysis and the design of algorithms and data structures.
Kenna states that he finds the web a very fun place to explore and has caught the programming bug since grade 6.
“I started writing basic websites in Gr. 6. I was amazed at how quickly I could start writing my own websites after some research. Soon enough I started selling this service during school holidays but slowed down in high school. During the pandemic, I was introduced to competitive programming and haven’t stopped since,” he states.
The open-ended nature of programming is one of the major attractions for Kenna.
“I love the journey of problem-solving. It is a wonderful feeling to go from not understanding an idea to programming a solution. I would love to work in this area, particularly in relatively young fields like data science and machine learning,” he mentions.
This young programmer also mentions that he would not have excelled if it has not been for the unwavering support of his parents and teachers.
“I’ve received overwhelming help and support. From my mom and dad who had to deal with me explaining solutions and typing long hours into the night. My school Ferdinand Postma and particularly Mr. Dejon Weyers, my Gr. 10 – 12 IT teacher, kept the classroom enjoyable with all the extra problems we worked on together. Lastly, my circle of friends that motivated me and made sure I had fun along the way. Not to mention Codeforces, USACO Guide and CSES.”
Kenna’s advice for aspiring programmers is to find a niche and to have fun whilst expressing their own uniqueness.
“Realize that software is everywhere and part of everything. Treat it as a tool for expressing yourself in whatever you may be interested in. After you’ve found a niche: get started by creating projects for yourself, make friends on the many available forums and constantly remind yourself how powerful this skill is.”
