My Unconditional Love for Math by Josselyn

My Unconditional Love for Math by Josselyn - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

A common question used to ignite small talk between plenty of students is, “What is your favorite subject in school?” Being the first high-school graduate in my family, I’ve had plenty of years to contemplate this conversation starter. For all my years in middle school and high school, mathematics has commonly been associated with struggle, frustration, and boredom. Of course, that connotation may be limited only to a few high schools, but even when I turn to the mass media, the world of entertainment once influenced me to believe excelling in this course was reserved and intended for certain types of people. Occurrences like these caused me question why I love math so much in the first place if there were no hopes of me succeeding in this field. Then I got to thinking and I realized mathematics has always and will always reign as my favorite academic subject, despite my differences from the average college professor. The primary reason behind why I prefer this academic subject above all other fields is because the content practices exercises for various brain functions, such as the frontal cortex as I’ve been told. You never really stop learning mathematics and I acknowledge that the beauty of this course lies in its truth, certainty, and necessity. As an incoming college freshman, I am thrilled with curiosity to engage in a course invigorated by a material I’ve been so fond of.
If you’ve made it this far, it won’t come as a surprise to you that the one class I’d be delighted to teach is mathematics. Despite my evident passion for this field, I would be a professor for this academic subject because I believe Hispanic women are underrepresented in this field. Approaching the AP Calculus class my high school offered, I immediately noticed the ratio of male to female students was alarmingly disproportionate. In a classroom abundant with males, there were only three female students seizing this course, including me. As the years have passed, our community continues to address important topics in the world that once stood quietly in the shadows during previous years. Delving into a world of opportunities characterized by individuality, I want to be a professor that makes a difference in the STEM community by allowing my ‘success’ to display the conquers of women’s leadership in this field. With my profession, I will be representing such a motivating and uplifting side to a minority group that I am so proud to be associated with, while encouraging all male and female students of every ethnicity to never stop pursuing their dream just as I know that I am willing to overcome all adversities to pursue mine. I yearn to be an instrument in countless student’s lives that makes them eager to pursue any career without having to contemplate the barriers.
Another reason why I’d love to teach this subject is because I want to present all the versatile skills students will likely develop throughout the course. Through my personal experience taking courses like AP Calculus, I developed skills and qualities that may present itself to students taking any math course in college. These math related skills include: constructing and developing logical arguments, analyzing data, and the ability to see the world through numbers and variables. If it weren’t for these reliable skills, I wouldn’t have successfully passed the course and earned a solid 5 of the AP Calculus exam. Attending school alongside students who were never persuaded to enroll in advanced and arduous math classes out of discouragement and intimidation, I want to be able to show my students that excelling in this course comes with great practice, just as any struggle in life. Unless you are a proclaimed prodigy, odds are most people lacked efficiency in this academic subject at one point.
Mathematics is an important academic subject that our society can’t live without. Diverging from basic math skills learned in elementary, it is strongly acknowledged that a student won’t be able to succeed in various careers pertaining to science, nursing, and engineering without a good hand in mathematics. There are countless job positions in this world that require some skill in calculating and analyzing. This encourages me furthermore to be a professor for courses such as College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Calculus I, and Calculus II.
Because of my endless passion for the beautiful complexity of mathematics, I believe teaching this course will help college and university students find their identity as I am preparing to do so. I yearn to lead a class beyond a simple curriculum; I want to educate classes filled with students who are fully engaged in their learning who willingly devote their time and efforts into a class I take so personal. I would greatly be honored to take the role of a professor to educate these students a universal language I’ve been so passionate about since my early years in elementary.