I am planning to pursue a degree in mathematics because it would allow me to become a math teacher. I've always loved math, but I didn't know how to combine it with my other passions and abilities. I have learned throughout my high school education that I am gifted at teaching others around me. I've volunteered my time tutoring my peers, once even helping my friend to get a B+ on her chemistry midterm when she was failing the class. Mathematics has always been my favorite subject in school. I find the orderly nature of math extremely satisfying. Math is beautiful to me; its patterns and concepts draw me in. Classmates at all different math levels are always quick to text me with their late-night math questions. And I'm happy to help. Without these experiences of teaching others, I wouldn't know that I want to be a math teacher. Last year, I was one of three students to receive my school's Excellence in Mathematics award and also received the only Leadership award. Being a math teacher would allow me to lead others in math. Many students claim to hate math. I understand math is not for everyone. Some people's interests lie elsewhere. As a teacher, I want to empower these students to do well in math, so that they can go on to achieve their goals. I want to give back to the community by helping kids to change their mindset around math. I want them to know that they can do whatever they set their minds to. A person that has encouraged me is my teacher Mr. Young. I often doubted my math ability, but Mr. Young was quick with inspiring words for me. He once told me, " I always thought you were the most serious mathematician". I want to be a teacher like Mr. Young, who builds students' confidence in math. His kind words have helped shape the person I am today. If I could just help one student change their perception of math and their perception of themselves, I would feel accomplished.

Ever since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by numbers. Numbers made sense when everything else didn’t. Einstein said, “Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” Math is beautiful to me, stanza after stanza of addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. Unlike more subjective subjects, like English and History, in math, 2+2 ALWAYS equals 4. As my favorite math teacher of all time, Mr. Young, frequently exclaimed, “Math works!”. Taking part in the universal truth of math unites me with people all over the world. Math is the opposite of chaos. In a world that just seems to get more and more chaotic as I grow up, math has always been a reassuring refuge. Some of my favorite math memories took place on my middle school math team. Our math team was the nerdiest assortment of students I had ever been a part of, but I treasured every moment. We traveled to other schools to compete in math competitions, and we even won third place in our first competition. Like many STEM-related activities, the club was male-dominated. There was only one other girl on the whole team. This was a little intimidating. I tended to doubt my abilities and hesitate even when I had the right answer. I’m not alone in this struggle; various studies suggest that women lack confidence in STEM subjects, especially math. The boys in the math club were nice; they never told me I was bad at math. I doubted myself because I did not see many women pursuing what I wanted to pursue. I’m passionate about math, but even more passionate about empowering students and building up their confidence. That’s why I want to teach high school mathematics. I want to show students that they can do anything they set their minds to. A topic in math that is close to my heart is the derivative. I dove into the rules of derivatives in AP Calculus AB; power rule, coefficient rule, quotient and product rule. Every problem was a new challenge, every equation a new pattern. Finding the slope of the slope of the slope (you get my point) was surprisingly enjoyable for me. I've learned that math becomes meaningful when you understand the concepts behind the steps of a problem. The derivative of a function IS the slope of a function. The moment when the real meaning of the derivative clicked, it made the whole topic much easier to wrap my mind around. I've had a wide variety of math teachers, and not all emphasize the importance of the meaning behind math rules. You can complete a math problem while being completely ignorant of WHY the problem works out that way. Having experience solving complex math problems has caused me to approach any problem I face with analytical thinking and a willingness to learn from my mistakes. Doing things in an orderly fashion, like PEMDAS, keeps me on track. I break difficult problems down into smaller parts so that I can work to find a solution. Nothing seems insurmountable when I use the tools of logical problem-solving I've learned from math.