The video narrates the inspiring achievements of high school students Kelsey Johnson and Nakaya Jackson, who solved a historical and mathematical puzzle long thought impossible. Their school, St. Mary's Academy, in New Orleans, is renowned for its legacy of fostering excellence among young African American women. These students independently developed a proof of the Pythagorean theorem using trigonometry, a feat considered unattainable for 2000 years. Their accomplishment has garnered international recognition and highlighted the exceptional mentoring and vision of their educational institution, which pushes students to transcend perceived limitations.

The story also touches on the challenges and prejudices that the students encountered upon their achievement, reflecting broader societal stereotypes about race and gender. However, St. Mary's Academy stands as a testament to the power of high standards and community support in defying such stereotypes, evidenced by its longstanding tradition of successful alumni and universal college acceptance rates. The narrative celebrates the overall environment and expectations at St. Mary's which empower students to pursue excellence in diverse fields.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. prodigies [ˈprɒd.ɪ.dʒiːz] - (n.) - Young individuals who show exceptional talents or abilities at an early age. - Synonyms: (wonders, geniuses, phenoms)

And as we first reported this past spring, we expected to find two mathematical prodigies.

2. replete [rɪˈpliːt] - (adj.) - Having plenty or being abundantly supplied with something. - Synonyms: (abounding, filled, brimming)

Come Mardi Gras season, New Orleans is alive with cold, colorful parades, replete with floats and beads and high school marching bands.

3. congruent [ˈkɒŋ.ɡruː.ənt] - (adj.) - In agreement or harmony; in geometry, shape or size identical. - Synonyms: (similar, identical, corresponding)

So to start the proof, we start with just a regular right triangle where the angle in the corner is 90 degrees and the two angles are alpha and beta. So then what we do next is we draw a second congruent, which means they're equal in size.

4. ingenuity [ˌɪn.dʒəˈnjuː.ɪ.ti] - (n.) - The quality of being clever, original, and inventive. - Synonyms: (creativity, innovation, inventiveness)

I was just looking for some ingenuity, you know.

5. documented [ˈdɒk.jʊˌmen.tɪd] - (adj.) - Officially recorded or kept in written or printed form for evidence. - Synonyms: (verified, recorded, substantiated)

What no one told them was there'd been more than 300 documented proofs of the Pythagorean theorem using algebra and geometry.

6. naysayers [ˈneɪˌseɪ.ərz] - (n.) - People who are skeptics or pessimists, often disagreeing or criticising something. - Synonyms: (doubters, critics, pessimists)

They were greatly applauded across the country. There were many naysayers.

7. matriculated [məˈtrɪk.jʊ.leɪ.tɪd] - (v.) - Registered or enrolled in a college or university program. - Synonyms: (enrolled, registered, admitted)

If they are unicorns, then every single lady that has matriculated through this school is a beautiful black unicorn.

8. commendation [ˌkɒm.ənˈdeɪ.ʃən] - (n.) - Praise or formal recognition of achievement. - Synonyms: (praise, applause, recognition)

Today's story features two high school students, Kelsey Johnson and Nakia Jackson. It took millennia to prove but just a minute for word of their accomplishment to go around the world. They got a write up in South Korea and a shout out from former first lady Michelle Obama, a commendation from the governor...

9. defray [dɪˈfreɪ] - (v.) - To provide payment for an expense or cost. - Synonyms: (cover, discharge, settle)

At St. Mary's half the students get scholarships subsidized by fundraising to defray the $8,000 a year tuition.

10. valedictorian [ˌvæl.ɪ.dɪkˈtɔːr.i.ən] - (n.) - A student who has the highest academic achievements of the class and delivers the valedictory at the graduation ceremony. - Synonyms: (top student, highest honor student, distinguished scholar)

Kelsey, the class valedictorian, is studying environmental engineering at Louisiana State University.

Remarkable Kids - 60 Minutes Full Episodes

For many high school students returning to class this month, it may seem like geometry and trigonometry were created by the Greeks as a form of torture. So imagine our amazement when we heard two high school seniors had proved a mathematical puzzle that was thought to be impossible for 2000 years. We met Kelsey Johnson and Nakaya Jackson at their all-girls Catholic high school in New Orleans. And as we first reported this past spring, we expected to find two mathematical prodigies. Instead, we found at St. Mary's Academy, all students are told their possibilities are boundless.

Come Mardi Gras season, New Orleans is alive with colorful parades, replete with floats and beads and high school marching bands. In a city where uniqueness is celebrated, St. Mary's stands out with young African American women playing trombones and tubas, twirling batons and dancing, doing it all, which defines St. Mary's students, told us. Junior Christina Blasio says the school instills in them they have the ability to accomplish anything. That is kind of a standard here. So we aim very high. Like every. Our aim is excellence for all students.

The private Catholic elementary and high school sits behind the Sisters of the Holy Family Convent in New Orleans East. The academy was started by an African American nun for young black women just after the Civil War. The convent still supports the school with the help of alumni. In December 2022, seniors Nakaya Jackson and Kelsey Johnson were working on a school-wide math contest that came with a cash prize. I was motivated because there was a monetary incentive because I was like, $500 is a lot of money, so I would like to at least try.

Both were staring down the thorny bonus question. So tell me, what was this bonus question? It was to create a new proof of the Pythagorean theorem, and it kind of gave you a few guidelines on how would you start a proof. The seniors were familiar with the Pythagorean theorem, a fundamental principle of geometry. You may remember it from high school: A squared plus B squared equals C squared. In plain English, when you know the lengths of two sides of a right triangle, you can figure out the length of the third.

Both had studied geometry and some trigonometry, and both told us math was not easy. What no one told them was there'd been more than 300 documented proofs of the Pythagorean theorem using algebra and geometry. But for 2,000 years, a proof using trigonometry was thought to be impossible. And that was the bonus question facing them. When you looked at the question, did you think, boy, this is hard. Yeah. What motivated you to say, well, I'm going to try this? I think I was like, I started something, I need to finish it. So you just kept on going? Yeah.

For two months that winter, they spent almost all their free time working on the proof. She was like, Mom, this is a little bit too much. Cece and Cal Johnson are Kelsey's parents. So then I started looking at what she really was doing, and it was pages and pages and pages of, like, over 20 or 30 pages for this one problem. Yeah. The garbage can was full of papers where she would, you know, work out the problems. And if that didn't work, she balled it up and threw it in the trash.

Did you look at the problem? Naliska Jackson is Nakaya's mother. Personally, I did not because most of the time I don't understand what she's doing. What if we did this? What if I write this? Does this help? Ax Squared.

Their math teacher, Michelle Bluein Williams, initiated the math contest. And did you think anyone would solve it? Well, I wasn't necessarily looking for a solve, so no, I didn't. What were you looking for? I was just looking for some ingenuity, you know. Kelsey and Nakaya delivered on that. They tried to explain their groundbreaking work to 60 Minutes. Cowsey's proof is appropriately titled the Waffle Cone.

So to start the proof, we start with just a regular right triangle where the angle in the corner is 90 degrees and the two angles are alpha and beta. So then what we do next is we draw a second cong ruent, which means they're equal in size. But then we start creating second, similar, but smaller right triangles going in a pattern like this. And then it continues for infinity, and eventually it creates this larger waffle cone shape. Am I going a little too? You've been beyond me since the beginning. So how did you figure out the proof?

Okay, so we have a right triangle, 90-degree angle, alpha, and beta. Then what did you do? Okay, I have a right triangle inside of the circle, and I have a perpendicular bisector at op to divide the triangle to make that small right triangle. And that's basically what I use for the proof.

That's the proof. That's what I call amazing. Well, thank you. There had been one other documented proof of the theorem using trigonometry by mathematician Jason Zimba in 2009. One in 2000 years. Now it seems Nik and Kelsey have joined perhaps the most exclusive club in mathematics. So you both independently came up with proof that only used trigonometry. Yes, so are you math geniuses? I think that's a stretch. If not geniuses, you're really smart at math. Not at all.

To document Kelsey and Nakaya's work, math teachers at St. Mary's submitted their proofs to an American Mathematical Society conference in Atlanta in March 2023. Well, our teacher approached us and was like, hey, you might be able to actually present this. I was like, are you joking? But she wasn't. So we went, I got up there, we presented, and it went well. And it blew up.

It blew up? Yeah. Yeah. What was the blow up like? Insane. Unexpected. Crazy, honestly. Today's story features two high school students, Kelsey Johnson and Nakia Jackson. It took millennia to prove but just a minute for word of their accomplishment to go around the world. They got a write up in South Korea and a shout-out from former first lady Michelle Obama, a commendation from the governor, and keys to the city of New Orleans.

Why do you think so many people found what you did to be so impressive? Probably because we're African American one and we're also women. So I think. Oh, and our age, of course, our age has probably played a big part. So you think people were surprised that young African American women could do such a thing? Yeah, definitely. I'd like to actually be celebrated for what it is. Like it's a great mathematical achievement.

Achievement. That's a word you hear often around St. Mary's Academy. Kelsey and Nakaya, throughout a long line of barrier-breaking graduates, the late queen of Creole cooking, Leah Chase was an alum. So was the first African American female New Orleans police chief Michelle Woodfork. I sit before you and judge for the fifth circuit court of appeals, Dana Douglas.

Math teacher Michelle Bluein Williams told us Cowsey and Nakaya are typical St. Mary's students. They're not unicorns. Oh, no, no. If they are unicorns, then every single lady that has matriculated through this school is a beautiful black unicorn. You good? Pamela Rogers, St. Mary's president and interim principal told us the students hear that message from the moment they walk in the door. We believe all students can succeed, all students can learn. It does not matter the environment that you live in.

So when word went out that two of your students had solved this almost impossible math problem, were they universally applauded in this community? They were greatly applauded across the country. There were many naysayers. What were they saying? They were saying, oh, they could not have done it. African Americans don't have the brains to do it. Of course, we sheltered our girls from that, but we absolutely did not expect it to come in the volume that it came. And after such a wonderful achievement, people have a vision of who can be successful.

And to some people, it is not always an African American female. And to us, it's always African American female. What we know is when teachers lay out some expectations that say, you can do this. Kids will work as hard as they can to do it. Gloria Ladson Billings, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, has studied how best to teach African American students. She told us, an encouraging teacher can change a life.

And what's the difference, say, between having a teacher like that and a whole school dedicated to the excellence of these students? So a whole school is almost like being in heaven. What do you mean by that? Many of our young people have their ceilings lowered that somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, their thoughts are, I'm not going to be anything special. What I think is probably happening at St. Mary's is young women come in as perhaps 9th graders and are told, here's what we expect to happen and here's how we're going to help you get there.

At St. Mary's half the students get scholarships subsidized by fundraising to defray the $8,000 a year tuition. Here. There's no test to get in, but expectations are high and rules are strict. No cell phones, modest skirts, hair must be its natural color. Students Raya Siddiq, Summer Ford, Carissa Washington, Tatum Williams, and Christina Blasio told us they appreciate the rules and rigor, especially the standards that they set for us. They're very high, and I don't think that's ever going to change.

So is there a heart of philosophy, an essence to St. Mary's the Sisterhood here? The sisterhood, yes. And you don't mean the nuns. You mean you. So when you're. When you're here, there's just no question that you're gonna go on to college. College is all they talk about. And Arizona State University principal Rogers announces to her 615 students the colleges where every senior has been accepted. So for 17 years, you've had a 100% graduation rate and a 100% college acceptance rate? That's correct.

Nakaya Jackson. Last year, when Nakiah and Kelsey graduated, all their classmates went to college and got scholarships. Nakiah got a full ride to the pharmacy school at Xavier University in New Orleans. Kelsey, the class valedictorian, is studying environmental engineering at Louisiana State University. So wait a minute. Neither one of you is going to pursue a career in math? No, no. I may take up a minor in math, but I don't want that to be my job.

Job? Yeah. People might expect too much out of me if I become a repetition. But math is not completely in their rearview mirrors. This spring they submitted their high school proofs for final peer review and publication and are still working on further proofs of the Pythagorean theorem. Since their first two, we found five, and then we found a general format that could potentially produce at least five additional proofs. And you're not math geniuses? No, no, I'm not buying it.

EDUCATION, INSPIRATION, MATHEMATICS, HARVARD, SCIENCE, ACHIEVEMENT, 60 MINUTES