A member of the Edison Eagles provincial champion badminton team has the ability to lay down a winning shot that will hug the line.
And if you replaced the racquet in his hand with a pencil, a piece of paper and a calculator, Edison School graduand Alister Salmon could figure out the trajectory of the birdie, racquet speed and other math stuff to make that winning shot.
“Math is kind of my stride, my forte, I guess,” said Salmon, who lives north of Okotoks in Foothills County.
“It’s what I enjoy the most. I am always happy doing something computer-related, or math-related much more so than say, English or social.”
Salmon was accepted into the engineering program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. for the fall.
“I don’t know exactly which engineering field I want to go into,” Salmon said. “I am thinking maybe mathematics engineering but something math based…
“I may find a passion for something else. I’m keeping my eyes open.”
He’s got the history to prove that he can succeed.
In his provincial Math 30-1 diploma exam this school year his mark was 100 per cent. He slipped in Chemistry 30, coming in at 98 per cent and 94 per cent at Physics 30.
He’s currently taking Math 31 (Calculus) and is hovering at around the 92 per cent mark.
“I always loved math,” Salmon said with a laugh. “I always remember I would have math competitions with my friends. In Grade 3, we used to have to do math quizzes daily, and I would race my friends. I guess it was a passion from the get-go.
“It’s what I found was the most fun.”
Fun?
“The process of doing things — the algorithms — for some reason it just looks beautiful,” Salmon said. “That sounds kind of nerdy, how the answer just comes out, the transformation, the reason behind the transformation.
“I can visualize it, it is just fun.”
He credits Edison School for fueling that fun.
“My Grade 4 or 5 class, they let me work at my own pace and I got like a year ahead in math,” he said. “I always had the passion for math but she (teacher Tracy Gilluley) worked with that and helped me get ahead.”
It wasn’t his math prowess that helped him learn that there can be strength in even small numbers.
That came from hanging with a close-knit student body.
The Class of 2019 at Edison School consists of 11 members.
“I am friends with everyone in my class,” said Salmon, who has attended Edison since Grade 2. “And I am friends with basically everybody in Grade 11 and Grade 10.
“The smaller school helps me socialize with people that are different because in a bigger school you kind of find your own niche, people you are similar too… Here, because we are so small, we kind of have to create a niche with everyone.”
That doesn’t mean the friends aren’t above some respected ribbing, even to a guy who is modest about acing his provincial math final exam.
“I try not to brag about my diploma marks because it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do,” Salmon said. “Sometimes they joke and call me ‘Genius’, but I’m not. I’m smart in math and physics, but not so much in social and LA (language arts). Over half of the students have better marks than me in those subjects.”
He’s pumped about going to Kingston.
“When I got there it was like: ‘Oh, wow this place is awesome,’” Salmon said. “It’s a nice town — a university town.
“It’s a school that gives a lot of opportunity.”
There’s one thing it doesn’t have – a first-rate badminton team like Edison School.
Salmon has proven that badminton combined with education can turn a big net profit on a report card.
Salmon qualified for the Alberta high school provincial championships all three of his years at Edison.
The team won the 1A banner all three years, extending its streak to nine consecutive years.
“I enjoy badminton so much, it gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day,” he said. “It helps me focus on other things, rather than just school.”
He still plans to pick-up the racquet in Kingston.
“Sadly, Queen’s doesn’t have a big competitive team, it’s not a super-competitive one,” Salmon said. “But definitely I will continue to play badminton.”
He credits Edison and his family for helping him get to university – and his goal is to keep it light as much as a high-achieving math lover can.
“My parents supported me and allowed me to follow my passion for badminton as well,” he said. “I want to have fun (at Queen’s). I have always heard that university is so stressful and I want to make it a little lighter.
“Have fun, but do well of course.”
