Hood Hosts High School Girls for Day of Math Exploration

Hood’s Department of Mathematics recently hosted its 10th annual Sonia Kovalevsky Mathematics Day (SK Day) for high school girls. Students and teachers from Frederick County public high schools and St John’s Catholic Prep came for a day of mathematical exploration.

Hood mathematics education alumnae attending included Brittany Beresford M.S.’15, of Brunswick High School; Darrin Drum M.S.’13, of Walkersville High School; and Casey Rogers ‘97, mathematics teacher at Middletown High School.

After a welcome from Olivia White, vice president of student life and dean of students, SK Day participants engaged in workshops led by Hood faculty members Jill Tysse, assistant professor of mathematics; Martha Meadows, senior lecturer of mathematics; Georgette Jones, assistant professor of biology; and Erin George, assistant professor of economics.

Hood mathematics students Sienna Bronson ’16 and Lew Dean ’16 spoke about the life of Sonia Kovalevsky, the first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics. Hood alumnae composed a mathematics career panel: Robin Winkler-Pickett ’84, M.S.’07, scientific operations manager of the Cancer and Inflammation Program at the National Cancer Institute; Abisola Abolude ’09, research analyst at IMPAQ International; and Alison Schuetz ’15, business analyst at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Amanda Forster, materials research engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, rounded out the panel.

SK Day was supported by PNC Bank through the Community Foundation of Frederick and by Frederick County Public Schools.