Describe your central passion(s) and how you hope to carry that into your post-grad plans:
Shocker I know, but I really like math and teaching. Next year, I am getting both! I am going on to graduate school at the University of Florida where I will be studying statistics. While I am there, I will be a teaching assistant as well.
What (or who) helped inspire your passion in this area (or areas)?
I would not have changed my major to Secondary Education (SED) Math without the guidance of Dr. Grant. I had her Statistics 2 class at 8 a.m. my first semester and she saw how excited about math I was so early in the morning. She encouraged me to check out the SED Math major since I was so interested in her class. After taking five classes with her she and I became closer and closer, and she became a good friend in addition to being a mentor.
Briefly tell us the story of one stand-out memory from your time at Flagler that will always make you smile:
I was taking Number Theory with Dr. Kao in my junior year and during instruction we, as a class, discovered what we thought was something new. Rather than telling us someone had already discovered this, Dr. Kao cultivated our interest by having us use our findings to state and prove it as a new proposition which he called Proposition W for the strong women in STEM that we were. Instead of sticking with what he had planned over the rest of this and the next class period and spent our time trying to prove our proposition. I feel like I learned so much from this experience that I wouldn’t have learned if my professor hadn’t taken the time to let us experience the process of creating and proving proposition just like a professional mathematician.
What academic resources, experiences, or mentors proved most valuable throughout your Flagler experience?
Pretty much every professor in the mathematics department served as a mentor or role model to me but I want to give a special shoutout to Professors Sebastian, Grant, Kao, and Byrns who I worked with independently on different projects with during my time at Flagler.
What is one piece of advice or lesson you learned about the college experience that you wish you could tell your freshman year self?
I would tell myself to be open to change. Before I got to Flagler, I was very sure I knew what I wanted to do. After coming to Flagler, I ended up changing my major and adding a second major and now I am so glad I did because I am so happy in the path that I am on.
Tell us about what you’re up to next! Any cool experiences, professional positions, or unique opportunities you have lined up after graduation?
I am moving to Gainesville in July to attend Graduate School at The University of Florida. I am very excited to get my master's and probably even a doctorate in Statistics. While I am there, I will be a teacher's assistant so I will get to continue my love of educating while I am still in school.