Axe ’Em, Jacks!
A formula for success
As a mathematics major at SFA, you’ll have opportunities to build skills, expand your professional network and explore potential careers. Use what you’ve learned in the classroom by seeking out opportunities for an internship or summer institute. Go head-to-head with other Lumberjacks in a friendly competition. Get involved with student organizations, and see new areas of mathematics by participating in the colloquium series.
Hands-on career preparation
An internship or summer institute is a great way to explore new areas or applications of mathematics. At SFA, we offer students plenty of resources and guidance to help them find an opportunity that lines up with their interests and career goals.
Interested in teaching? STEM majors can participate in a job-shadowing program that pairs them with a high school teacher. You’ll spend a week learning what it’s like to be in front of the classroom. You can also participate in teacher job shadowing and training through the Talented Teachers in Training for Texas (T4) program (currently funded by the National Science Foundation).
Networking and professional development
One way mathematics students make contacts in the professional world is by presenting at conferences such as the Annual Texas Undergraduate Mathematics Conference and the Texas Section Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America.
Students interested in teaching can meet, network and discuss best practices with public and private school teachers and student teachers at the East Texas Math Teachers’ Circle, which is part of the National Association of Math Circles.
Looking for a deeper dive into a variety of mathematics and statistics topics? Check out SFA’s R. W. Yeagy Colloquium Series, where you can attend guest lectures on a variety of cutting-edge mathematical topics.
Learn while you reach out
SFA’s mathematics and statistics students can participate in a variety of service learning programs. Explore ways to share what you have learned in your studies of mathematics with the community:
- Visit Nacogdoches middle schools as part of the Math Blitz program. Talk to students about the interesting applications and career paths that are possible with a mathematics or statistics degree.
- Participate in a variety of STEM outreach events aimed at getting local middle and high school students interested in studying mathematics and science.
- Serve as a private tutor of local middle or high school students.
- Join the Academic Assistance and Resource Center as a tutor or a supplemental instruction leader. You’ll help your fellow Lumberjacks in their college-level mathematics classes – and deepen your own understanding in the process!
We factor fun into the equation
Learning theories, working problems and testing knowledge are only part of the education equation for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Want to get social or explore your competitive streak? Check out one of these fun events:
- Compete in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, where you’ll test your skills against math students from colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
- Participate in Math Club and Pi Mu Epsilon activities with your classmates.
- Travel to conferences and competitions with faculty and classmates.