Sherry Huang '23

First math class at Swarthmore: MATH 025 (Further Topics in Single Variable Calculus) and STAT 011 (Statistical Methods I)

What was your favorite math class and why? My favorite stats course has to be STAT 041 (Data Visualizations and Statistical Graphics) when Professor Luby taught it. I learned so many new and interesting ways to represent data visually.
My favorite math class would probably be MATH 063 (Real Analysis I) with Professor Mavinga. While it is still one of the most difficult courses I've taken at Swarthmore to this day, the proof writing and problem-solving techniques I developed in this class have been really helpful in many ways.

Why did you become a math major?  When I took Calculus in high school, I really enjoyed the methodical way I could solve certain types of problems. I came to Swarthmore not fully set on majoring in math, but after finding a community in the department and people, I knew that this was exactly what I wanted to study.

How do you expect to use your mathematics after leaving Swarthmore? I'm hoping to enter the Data Science field, which will use not just math, but also problem solving.

What advice do you have for an incoming student? Don't be afraid to ask questions, whether it's to Pirates, Muses, peers, and/or professors! I think the goal is to not necessarily be the best, but to learn as much as you can.

Anything else you'd like to share? Try and support all the wonderful student groups in math! My personal favorite is Gender Minorities in Math & Stat (GeMs in Math & Stat), but there's a number of other lovely groups that do a lot to try and support students, such as Black in Math & Stat (BiMS), Math & Stat Student Advisory Council (MSSAC), and Out in STEM (oSTEM).