My Experience In Mathematics

Growing up, my family and friends recognized my fascination with learning math and helping others with it. I find mathematics appealing, since math has always been fun problem solving and discovering many methods to answer a question, and because I get to share the amusement and the process with others. Because I was good at math, it seemed like a natural decision to become a high school math teacher, at the time. After graduating high school, I attended Weatherford Community College for two years, and then transferred to the University of Houston. At the University of Houston, I quickly learned that there are several opportunities in mathematics besides teaching in high school, and those opportunities, which often involve problem solving,

This course was vastly different from my previous math courses, which were highly computational. Each theorem or example discussed in class was derived from basic definitions, and the ability to build mathematics from fundamental axioms blew my mind. This is when my career goal changed to becoming a mathematics professor and earning a Ph.D. Beforehand, I was under the impression that the job of a professor consisted of one component: teaching. However, by meeting and conversing with graduate students and professors, I learned about the multiple facets of a professor’s work, and that research and teaching complement one another. The idea of combining these two components is appealing to me because they correspond to the things I find alluring, such as solving problems and sharing my knowledge of mathematics with others. Rather than teaching at a high school, I am considerably more eager and interested in working at a university because it opens numerous opportunities to do mathematical research, continue learning, and guide

To learn about research, during the summer of 2015, I participated in the University of Houston’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). For ten weeks, I worked with Dr. Mark Tomforde, an Associate Professor in the University of Houston Math Department, to produce original research. Together, we created a generalized ranking procedure for multiplayer competitions. Proving that a unique ranking existed required advanced linear algebra skills, so I took time to refine those skills. Participating in a research project taught me the value of understanding a particular area of mathematics well enough to communicate it to people with a broad variety of mathematical knowledge. The process was long, confusing, and at times frustrating. However, the non-obvious mathematical ideas were exciting to work through and understand because I was able to explore mathematics at my own pace and in my own