Neel Sood is your typical 6th Grade student.
He is eager to run to join his friends at the Hillside Intermediate School on the playground once he is done with a task in Tony Sgro’s chorus classroom.
Neel also happens to have a fervent interest in mathematics and music.
And he used both of his passions to claim an elite distinction.
Neel received the Second Place award in the American Statistical Association’s National Data Visualization Poster Competition (Grades 4–6 category).
According to Mr. Sgro, Hillside’s dedicated Choral Director, Neel’s winning project, “Chorus Members Song Choice for Spring Concert – Boys versus Girls,” combined his love of math and music to create a compelling data visualization poster. The project explored song preferences among chorus members and presented the findings in a creative, accessible way that impressed national judges.”
Mr. Sgro also reported that the award comes with national recognition in Amstat News, publication on the ASA website, and a $200 honorarium.
Neel explained his award-winning exhibit.
“Two of my loves are math and music, so I came up with this idea and the title to see if the boys in our school and their choices for the song in the spring concert varied from the choices of the girls,” he said.
Mr. Sgro revealed the process of how the students select their songs.
“Every year I give the kids the chance to vote for one song they can sing during our spring chorus concert,” he said. “Neel saw this and looked into how the song data is different.”
Click here to view this spectacular and award-winning work:
https://magazine.amstat.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/6_Grades4-6SecondPlace.pdf
Meanwhile, Neel's success in both math and music has resulted in other prestigious recognitions.
He has won the Continental Math League Competition for the past four years at the school level, while he has also claimed regional and national medals in the past for finishing first in the region and the country.
"This was a wonderful opportunity for Neel to merge two of his passions — statistics and singing,” said Neel’s mother, Supriya Sood. “Neel has won the school’s Continental Math League Competition for four consecutive years, and has also earned regional and national medals for placing first in both categories. This poster competition gave him the chance to apply his mathematical skills to his love of music in a new and exciting way.”
Mr. Sgro, who advised Neel on the project, shared his pride in the accomplishment: “
“Neel’s work exemplifies how music and mathematics are deeply connected. His creativity, critical thinking, and perseverance represent the very best of our students here at Hillside,” Mr. Sgro stated.
The Hillside school community is thrilled over his accomplishment.
“We are so proud of Neel for winning Second Place in the American Statistical Association’s National Data Visualization Poster Competition. This is a big honor to be recognized by the ASA, and we celebrate his wonderful achievement,” Hillside Principal Dr. Tali Axelrod said.
According to Mr. Sgro, the American Statistical Association’s competition encourages students across the country to use data to tell a story, develop statistical reasoning, and communicate findings in clear and engaging ways.
For more information about the competition, visit:
https://www.amstat.org/education/asa-data-visualization-poster-competition-for-grades-k-12-
“I love being in competitions,” Neel declared. “I may look to get into more.”
But for now, he was more focused on the action happening outside on the Hillside playground.