Mentoring
Mentoring Philosophy
As a first generation person, I heavily relied on the guidance and mentoring of several good people in my academic journey. I wouldn't be where I am today without my mentors and I am forever grateful to them (this sounds cliche but it is true!).
My mentoring philosophy is centered around forming meaningful relationships with my students and creating a community. Whether I am your instructor, research mentor, or someone you happen to get connected with, I can be your mentor and I would be there to support you regardless of the nature of your situation. My actions as a mentor are based on my mentees unique situations, backgrounds, and needs. Instead of giving you unsolicited advice, I will first listen to you about your goals, your needs, and your situation. Then, I will provide my thoughts and suggestions based on my experiences while recognizing our experiences and our perception might differ due to our backgrounds. I will actively look for opportunities for you to grow in the direction you want to go towards and work with you to apply for these opportunities. Even after our paths diverge, I will still check in, ask how the next part of your journey is going, and how I can support you.
As a mentor, I am deeply committed to support and work with students from historically excluded backgrounds in mathematical spaces and STEM in general.
Mentoring and Advising
(Utah) SRI Students: Aidan Bucko, Amelia Walden, Debbie Wooton, Josie Marshall, Kayden Perez, Kiyanna Porter, and Nick Van Fleet
(Utah) Mentoring Trung Chau, math graduate student
(Utah) Mentoring Lia Smith, math senior
(Utah) Directed reading on Algebraic Combinatorics with Winston Stucki --PhD student at Georgia Tech now
(Utah-South) Co-advised Rachel Hilarides' honors thesis with Dr. Drew Lewis from South Alabama
(South) Masters thesis adviser and mentor for Kayla Johnson
(South) Mentored Beata Casiday when she was a high school student at ASMS and completed a research paper together
(South) Faculty mentor for the AWM Student Chapter
I support and believe in Federico Ardila's axioms.
Axiom 1. Mathematical talent is distributed equally among different groups, irrespective of geographic, demographic, and economic boundaries.
Axiom 2. Everyone can have joyful, meaningful, and empowering mathematical experiences.
Axiom 3. Mathematics is a powerful, malleable tool that can be shaped and used differently by communities to serve their needs.
Axiom 4. Every student deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.