- Sarah Acquaviva
- Major: MS in Mathematics
- Graduation: May 2023
- Math has always been the most interesting subject to me; I decided that I wanted to pursue an advanced degree in math during my seventh grade Pre-Algebra class. I enjoy tackling complex problems and appreciate the logic and rationality necessary for doing so. After I graduate, I hope to pursue a career in mathematics that is both challenging and fulfilling.
- Ala Ajaj
- Major: Math Education
- Graduation: May 2020
- Mathematics can be an intellectual challenge. The beauty of the challenge is it forces you to understand the logical reasoning behind every step, law, and rule applied. Every so often we are given a grueling problem and after much thought and logical reasoning you come to a solution. Obtaining a solution to the problem while having a complete understanding of it is the greatest feeling. My career goal is to be a secondary math teacher and change students’ often negative viewpoint of mathematics to a positive one.
- Megan Akdemir
- Major: Combined BS/MAT in Mathematics with Teacher Certification in Mathematics and Teacher of Students with Disabilities
- Anticipated Graduation: May 2024 (BS), May 2025 (MAT)
- Mathematics is nerve racking for many students, but I appreciate a good challenge. What I like most about the subject is that it leads to questions that I know can be answered through making sense of what I already know. Subjects such as integration and series may not be useful for all people, but one thing is certain: working through and understanding such topics builds intelligence and critical thinking skills that other subjects cannot.
- Taiwo Akingbesote
- Major: Combined BS/MS in Mathematics
- Anticipated Graduation: May 2025 (BS), May 2026 (MS)
- The allure of mathematics extends far beyond the satisfaction derived from conquering challenging problems. It’s a discipline that not only sharpens the mind but also nurtures critical thinking. This multifaceted beauty of mathematics is what has kindled my profound love for it.
What’s particularly fascinating is how mathematics seamlessly integrates into the modern world. If you had told my high school self that mathematics could be used to predict the future and drive innovation, I would have chuckled in disbelief. Yet, here I am, witnessing the sheer versatility of mathematics and the wondrous possibilities it unlocks.
As someone with a data-driven mindset, my aspiration is to harness my mathematical skills and meld them with contemporary trends. I envision myself delving into the realms of programming languages, artificial intelligence, and quantitative research. The synergy of mathematics and technology is a gateway to a world where data analysis, prediction, and problem-solving become second nature.
In this exciting journey, I aim to not only further my understanding of mathematics but also apply it practically in a way that shapes the future and contributes to the evolving landscape of knowledge.
- Jessica Davidson
- Major: MS in Mathematics, Concentration in Mathematics Education
- Graduation: May 2020
- I love the creative endeavor behind what it means to truly do mathematics–whether that’s constructing an elegant advanced calculus proof or solving an open-ended problem while huddled around a virtual whiteboard, there is a certain beauty and perseverance in the process that help us all build virtues to flourish. After graduation, I hope to continue teaching non-traditionally at the undergraduate level, and perhaps one day, I’ll start my own school or math education service!
- Cristina Flores
- Major: BS in Mathematics and MA in Social Research
- Anticipated Graduation: BS – Spring 2023, MA – Fall 2023
- What I like about math and my goals after graduation: I love mathematics because of how straight forward it is. Yes, mathematics has a broad range of topics like Calculus, Statistics, Probability, etc. But when it comes down to solving a problem, there is always an answer for everything! Problem-solving skills are crucial for our daily lives and mathematics is one way to strengthen those skills. My goal is to become a Social Research Analyst so I can investigate social issues using both qualitative and quantitative data. I will definitely be able to use my problem solving skills I learned from mathematics and apply it to improve societal issues.
- Angela Harrington
- Major: Mathematics, Mathematics Education concentration
- Graduation: January 2020
- Math, to me, is a puzzle for which the challenge and reward of solving gives me great pleasure. I hope to research what mathematics has meant in various cultures throughout history and use that to influence math education so that more people can come to understand and see the beauty that math possesses.
- Sam Harris
- Major: BS in Mathematics, Mathematics Education Concentration with Teacher Certification in Mathematics (Preschool – Grade 12)
- Graduation: May 2022
- As Tina Fey once wrote, I believe math is beautiful because “it is the same in every language.” Math allows us to understand the world around us and investigate things that people once thought was impossible to comprehend. I love the challenge and creativity of mathematics and want to continue to learn as much as possible about the subject. I plan to teach high school math in New Jersey and share my love for mathematics with my future students.
- Jack Hillermeier
- Major: BS in Mathematics
- Anticipated Graduation: December 2024
- The reasoning for doing Mathematics to me was actually Calculus itself. I may be one of the only people to say that I love Calculus I, but truly I do. Learning the language of Math, and truly making sense of all the previous Math I learned really made me want to further my education in it. I really have already made some great connections in the math department, and hope to do further research in the future here! The Math community has some great people involved in it who are really there to help you. After I graduate, I have to make my choice in either getting a masters in either Math or Education, or just sticking with my Bachelors. I’m open to do anything with this, and that’s part of the reason a Math degree is so great!
- Roland Hutchinson
- Major: MS in Mathematics, Concentration in Pure Mathematics
- Graduation: May 2022
- What’s not to like about math?
- Mathematics provides scope for human creativity at the highest levels, just like (for example) art, music, or literature. That’s not too shabby for a discipline all of whose products are essentially elaborate tautologies! Math furnishes remarkable tools for understanding the physical world, but that is not my reason for doing math. (Others feel differently; that’s okay, too.) Mathematical discoveries endure: the Pythagorean Theorem, known from antiquity in many parts of the world, is Still Valid After All These Years.
- My goal, unlikely to be achieved, is to keep on learning mathematics until I am content with the amount that I know. Maybe I can discover a few new bits in the meanwhile, maybe induce a few others to recognize the nature and value of mathematics.
- Allyn Lilien
- Major: Combined B.S./M.A.T. in Mathematics with Teacher Certification in Mathematics and Teacher of Students with Disabilities. Minor in Leadership Development Through Civic Engagement.
- Graduation: May 2020 (for B.S.), May 2021 (for M.A.T.)
- I enjoy math as it is so important and relevant in everyday life. In addition, I enjoy working on problems which can be solved or approached in so many ways to arrive at the same answer. I intend to be a math teacher in a middle school or high school with the possibility of becoming an administrator in my future.
- Rachel Lopez
- Major: BS (Mathematics) / MS (Mathematics)
- Graduation: May 2021/2022
- Math has always been my favorite subject throughout my years in school. I like being able to challenge myself and think outside of the box when it comes to math problems. After finishing this program, my goal is to earn a PhD and become a professor.
- Nina Mammana
- Major: BS in Mathematics, P-12 Teacher Education Program
- Graduation: May 2022
- I have always loved mathematics because I enjoy using logic to solve problems. I am also attracted to the beauty of mathematics as it is the fundamental means for creativity and understanding the world. After I graduate, I plan to teach in a middle school or high school classroom as well as apply for graduate school in time.
- Imani L. Mosquera
- Major: MS in Mathematics
- Graduation: May 2022 and not a second later
- I don’t like math—I love it! Math is honest; she’s not going to lie about your abilities or switch up the rules mid-game. It’s very much a “you get out what you put in” situation so I put my all into being the greatest mathematician I can be. Math is a secret code that allows me to interpret the world in ways that other can’t. I love teaching and encouraging other little Black girls and mini-Latinas to become mathematicians despite our still-old-timey world that tells girls that STEM is a “man’s field”. Hopefully, seeing me teach the socks off a person reaches one girl and shows her that she can do it, too. After I graduate with my master’s degree, I plan to pursue my dream career as a Pure Math professor to fund my next degree—Dr. Imani L. Mosquera coming soon!
- Georgi Naumov
- Major: BS in Mathematics and BA in Economics
- Graduation: December 2023
- I like mathematics because it is the language of nature. Mathematics gives us the opportunity to explore nature and discover new things about it. With its use our imagination widens and it is an equipment that gives us confidence to unveil the secrets of our world. After graduation, I want to continue gaining knowledge about mathematics with enrolling into a graduate school. Then I will be able to jump into the beautiful opportunities that this science provides and apply my knowledge in other areas of the natural sciences. I still am unsure in what area of study I want to be working in the future, but I am open to engage in different jobs that include mathematics.
- John O’Meara
- Major: MS in Mathematics, Concentration in Mathematics Education
- Graduation: May 2022
- What I find most engaging about math is the ability to generate patterns of thought through precise and logical statements and conclusions; there is so much power in the structures that we as a society study through mathematics, and I look forward to continuing to gain deeper insight into these connections as I continue my studies! Currently, I plan to continue working on completing my actuarial exams as I seek out Ph.D. programs to continue on my path into academia.
- Ella Oren-Dahan
- Major: Combined BS/MS in Mathematics
- Anticipated Graduation: May 2023/2024
- I love the creativity of math. The fact that all you really need to better understand the world is manipulating already known mathematics. You can always find an answer (even if it’ll take 500 years). As well as how mathematics is literally an entire field of questions, problem solving and manipulating numbers/theories.
- My goal post graduation is to pursue a PhD in pure mathematics and research math after working in the field.
- Joseph Pateras
- Major: Pure and Applied Mathematics
- Graduation: May 2020
- I love the universality of mathematics and its boundless implementations. My goal is to earn a PhD after finishing my M.S.
- Ely Schudrich
- Major: Mathematics
- Graduation: January 2020
- I really enjoy understanding how math can be used to explain everything we know about the universe; the motion of planets, the orbits of electrons around the nucleus of an atom, and everything in between. My goal is to pursue a PhD is pure mathematics and eventually become a professor so I can research and teach math for the rest of my life.
- Sam Sigmund
- Major: Mathematics
- Graduation: Spring 2021
- I like math because I like problem solving and puzzles. I have always enjoyed math and science because it comes to me more naturally than other subjects. After graduation, I plan on continuing to pursue my career in the Air National Guard as an intel analyst.
- Stephanie Smith
- Major: BS in Mathematics w/ Teaching P-12 Certification
- Anticipated Graduation: May 2024
- Math has so much depth to it, and is one of the many reasons I love the subject. It contains a level of creativity, allowing each and every person to find new and innovative ways to solve a problem. It is useful, through its applications to anything and everything we do on a daily basis. It is challenging, allowing you to push yourself beyond what you think you know. Ultimately, it is incredibly rewarding. Once you discover your love for math, you will realize how beautiful it really is. As a future educator, I can’t wait to inspire my students and encourage them in their own love of math.
- Nikki Sterling
- Major: Math Education
- Graduation: January 2021
- The thing I love the most about math is the way it can connect you so much more to the world around you. Math is how the Universe speaks to us, and learning the language of the universe feels very powerful. My goal for my career is to become a high school mathematics teacher who can make my students feel at least a little bit of the magic that I feel when working with mathematics, and barring that at least show them that everyone has a math brain – you just need some practice using it.
- Erick Tapia
- Major: BS in Mathematics/BS in Computer Science
- Graduation: May 2023
- Plenty have been the problems I solved throughout my journey to be here today. I hope to fulfill my dream to help others with my knowledge and guide them based on my experience. I study with the intent of innovating society one day…
Through Mathematics, I have been able to accomplish meaningful goals: I tutor to inspire and encourage people to dream bigger, I keep learning to sharpen my proficiency in problem solving, I use my knowledge to offer significant solutions. The presence and use of Mathematics are boundless! It expresses itself in nature, technology, economy, and hence society itself. As mathematicians, we not only analyze numbers but also use logical reason and facts to reach conclusions, which help us find answers in the pursuit of truth.