“Everything was just amazing... I learned to love math’s beauty.”
Think back to 7th grade: what did you know or think about math? Each year, we ask graduates of BEAM 7 to talk about their three weeks with us on a college campus, doing math. One of the most interesting questions is: "What is math to you?" Here are a few of our favorite answers from over the years!
"Math is thinking and trying your best. Math is everything."
-- Aishat, now in 12th grade, has been admitted to Yale, Pomona, Wesleyan, Swarthmore, Vassar, Macalaster, UVA, and SUNY Geneseo, and has decided to attend Yale. She has also been awarded the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke College Scholarship.
"It is not just numbers and a bunch of variables; it's something that actually is fun and exciting."
-- Aleks, now in 12th grade, has been admitted to Syracuse, St. John's Penn State, and four campuses of the City University of New York (CUNY). She will be attending St. John's.
" A way I can express my thoughts and talk with and engage in fun arguments with my friends."
-- Alex, now in 9th grade, attends the Cate School on full scholarship.
"Math is the ability to understand the world around you using numbers and ideas."
-- Camila, now in 8th grade, has been admitted to Bard High School Early College. She is also a Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholar.
"My favorite subject. The structure of building and thinking."
-- Edgar, now in 8th grade, has been admitted to both Brooklyn Latin and Bard High School Early College.
"The best subject in the world and the most interesting one."
-- Eli, now in 12th grade, has been admitted to Howard, SUNY Binghamton, UConn, University of Kentucky, Syracuse, College of Staten Island, and Lehman College, and will be attending Howard, planning to study engineering. They were also a Questbridge College Prep Scholar. They have worked as a Junior Counselor at BEAM 6, an Algebra TA for our 8th grade class, and a math team coach for two middle school teams.
"Math is life. Math is a book that never ends and you want to keep learning about."
-- Pamela, now in 12th grade, will be attending Smith College in the fall. She was also a Questbridge National College Match Finalist.
"Math is something that you can learn that will open up doors to new opportunities."
-- Zeñia, now in 11th grade, attends St. Mark's School. After three summers at the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), this summer she will attend Cooper Union's Summer STEM Program on a full scholarship.
Finally, we want to take a second to call out Lismary's quote (below). Lismary, who goes by "L" after her favorite anime character, is currently in 8th grade. She attended BEAM 6 and then BEAM 7, where she fell in love in math. Next year, she will attend Bard High School Early College. She currently aims to get a PhD in number theory and to go on to become a professor of mathematics.
Here's what she had to say:
"Math is an amazing collection of curiosity, conjectures, and theorems. It's the language of the universe. It's something that brings us together. I want to study math because I know that I will always have questions about the universe. I want to be part of a team of mathematicians who answer those questions."