Educators From The United States

"You know, during the August break, I spent time with firefighters, both in central Oregon and in roundtables and at our National Night Out.And the message was consistent."

"Where more are the streets than social media? So I started on Twitter, and the way I ended up other places beyond Twitter, ’cause Twitter really was my pocket because I didn’t really understand social media. I still don’t understand Instagram. No clue how Instagram works."

"I’m also healing as I share what I’ve talked about. So it’s not easy for me to just be like, let me read this every day now. No, that was my life and I lived it. And it was just a moment. And there’s just an element about that that I wanna put about the book too, where it felt like I was sharing a piece of myself and it’s just that it’s all compact, but that was really my life with the death of, you know"

"I went through hell at work. It was a mess. And there’s a quote in the book where I talk about a blueprint and I wished I had a blueprint before I started this experience. But I always said, sometimes you have to be the blueprint. And as I was learning and documenting what was going on, I would look at tweets and kind of just record the tweets. And I wrote essays based on the things that were resonating with people on social media."

"So our office has been engaged regularly on the front lines in, you know, all of the coordinating meetings and keeping abreast of what's happening, informing the public, telling people where resources can be found."

"So that is the heart part of this, where it’s my story where it also is informed from the voices of people who’ve gone through situations very similar to mine. And as you know about social media, there was also the upheaval with Twitter/X. And I thought, if it goes away, what about all of that information, all of those conversations."

"I had planned to be a pediatrician, then I read Silent Spring and this changed my direction away from medicine and towards chemistry"

"We need a do it yourself approach for sustainable practices. I recall the sanitation strike of 1968 in Memphis, TN. The city came together and demanded change. It is essential to organize and use your community, church, and creative influence to prevail. You have a direct influence on solving our world’s problems."

"Mom wouldn’t allow pesticides in her garden. Being a Brownie and a Girl Scout, we were taught about preventing forest fires, how to protect the environment, take care of animals, etc."

"My degree put science, engineering, and chemistry all together. This brought me closer to the environment because we have the obligation to take care of mother earth. I have a responsibility to protect her"

"I thought, ‘wait a minute, I deserve the same right to be a part of a group who are honoring their forefathers,'” said Benton."

"My initial intellectual interest was not in mathematics but in science. My mother (for some reason) decided to give me a Gilbert chemistry set for Christmas when I was 9."

"When I was a younger student, I was that kid who was able to do school. I knew how to talk to the right people and figure out what classes and things that I needed. That’s not because I had a legacy family that all went to college."

"That was because I just had something in me where I learned how to network and interact with people very, very early. And I just began to observe how folks [who had] what I thought was more power, I just observed to see how they moved in the world and began to engage them."

"I enjoyed math because of its power to help me understand things. Not to just sit in the library and do a long problem; it wasn’t about that for me."

"I developed a duodenal ulcer from the medication and I eventually became unable to walk without a walker. But God! I eventually regained most of my strength, returned to finish high school on time, and I started college on August 27, 1983 (my 18th birthday). Although I still have to manage the MG and now a new illness (Fibromyalgia), I have been able to achieve all of my goals to date."

"It really is like, man, if you can be math literate — I don’t care if you’re an artist, if you’re a nurse, if you’re a janitor — math literacy is going to help you push forward in your life and just open up so many opportunities."

"I’ve been fortunate to have many incredible experiences at Raytheon Technologies and Raytheon Intelligence & Space. One that stands out to me occurred through my work with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), which gave me the opportunity to travel and participate in NATO workshops and conferences."

"You are your brother’s keeper. You are responsible. You’re blessed to have what you have, and you’re responsible to take care of others, as God has taken care of you."

"In particular, I study mathematical predictions for aneurysm prevention and treatment. My specialties are ordinary and partial differential equations and numerical analysis. Oddly, I also love some areas of core mathematics. I love linear and abstract algebra and real and complex analysis."

"By seventh grade I knew that I would major in mathematics as a college student. What I did not know was there were so many areas of mathematics to study. I am an applied mathematician who uses mathematics to solve equations that model physical phenomena in the medical field."

"We took care of the land. We captured water in a cistern and used a pump from the well. Nothing was thrown away. You had to use everything because there was little or no money. This meant that we practiced canning, composting, and reusing whatever we could"

"I’ve learned through some of my research that Black girls want to be able to have more of a family, relaxed environment — to be able to laugh and be social — while at the same time doing their math work."

"Very little is known about black confederate soldiers, so if I can be a starting point in letting the world know the history and making them aware that African-Americans have fought in every war in history, then I’m proud to stand up for my great-grandfather. I’m honored because he helped form the United States of America, he was a part of that movement and not too many people are aware of that. I’m standing here with honor and pride."

"My interest in mathematics was sparked and sustained in high school not by courses per se but by a number of well written, engaging books aimed at readers with a high school mathematics background."

"Since the age of 13, I have had to manage a chronic disease called Myasthenia Gravis (MG). MG is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles. It manifests in difficulty with breathing, droopy eyelids, double vision, trouble speaking and swallowing and weakness in the arms and legs. I had every symptom and the disease was so debilitating that I could not attend school in tenth grade."

"So that’s one of the reasons why I think I really fell in love with math, and why I enjoyed it, and why I try to help my students and everybody else around me see its power."

"One female scientist who has inspired me is Shirley Ann Jackson, PhD. She’s currently the President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY, USA) and an accomplished theoretical physicist. She has broken many glass ceilings in her career and continues to be a trailblazer for African-American women and women in general."

"When I was a young child, I loved the show “Square One”. This was shown on PBS and focused on showcasing abstract mathematical concepts. It showed different vignettes including “Mathman” which was a Pacman-type game, and Mathnet, a detective show like Dragnet."

"I wanted it to be a math activity book, so I wrote bios about the women and made up activities to go with their math — fun activities that don’t need a teacher to teach it to you first. It’s a book that students can just pick up and do without a teacher, maybe while riding in the car to grandma’s house."

"Another experience that stands out to me was learning how to multiply by watching School House Rock videos! “Three is a magic number” is still a favorite of mine. You could say that public television and educational videos were my thing when I was a kid."

"It’s an awesome book I really enjoyed doing"

"What does a math task look at when it’s both culturally relevant and cognitively demanding?"

"because we keep hearing about the achievement gap, often between black and white children. But for this book we focused on black children not from a deficit — not from what they don’t know — but from what they do know."

"There are many factors that make Raytheon Intelligence & Space a great place to work, and two things in particular stand out as an RI&S employee."

"As I touched on earlier, is RI&S’ global impact. We’re not just working to address national challenges, but also global issues. For example, we develop advanced sensors, cyber services and software solutions, and we deliver cutting-edge technology that enables our customers to succeed in any domain, against any challenge."

"Second is our environmental sustainability efforts. We are committed to protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. RI&S — and Raytheon Technologies as a whole — is working to reduce our environmental footprint through responsible resource management, implementing innovative solutions and collaborating with stakeholders."

"In fact, Raytheon Technologies recently appointed a chief sustainability officer to help ensure that our products, solutions and platforms are built with sustainability in mind, and that we’re positively impacting the Earth’s climate and biodiversity in the process. I love that sustainability is something we’re working toward as a company."

"A year ago this answer would be different, but this past year I have been recognized nationally and locally for my teaching, research, and service as a mathematician. I am very proud of all of the things I have been able to start or participate in. I am grateful to all the great people I do impactful things with. I appreciate that I am increasing the rate of change in this field, positive second derivative."

"Part of it is respecting and learning about the contributions different cultures have made to math in addition to Pythagoras — the one name people know"

"It’s because teachers want to engage students and know how much they like music."

"It’s also about wanting students to develop a positive math identity and not just see it as a procedure, but to realize that a lot of what they’re doing is math."

"I hope that if my students can believe it, they can achieve it,"

"Going to college, having a scholarship, never knowing where the money was coming from, but trusting, feeling blessed, and knowing it will come was a blessing. It came from God"

"I'm just in there working, just doing my thing, trying to do the best that I can do. And knowing that I was among the minority there that I had to do my best if I was going to stay there"

"Every workshop always sold out and was sitting room only"

"Wow, math is everywhere."

"Externally: Last year I bought a house on my own. I never thought I would be a homeowner and I am so proud of myself for not letting my doubts keep me from realizing this dream. I also co-founded a publishing company, 619 Wreath LLC, with my friend Miloš Savić… and we wrote a book titled “Radical Grace: Essays and Conversations on Teaching”. These are things that make me feel like such a grown-up!"

"I think that medical oncology could really use a mathematical modeling toolbox that can leverage clinical measurements to optimize treatments for individual patients. Mathematical modeling can also help us make predictions to improve clinical care."

"There's a high attrition rate and the biggest drop off happens to be students of color and students from underserved backgrounds. When I was researching and finding out all these facts, it really made me want to figure out ways to support students and address this retention in STEM problem."