1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
As a leader of the Math Club, I led weekly meetings where I tutored members on SAT math and helped solve general math problems assigned for homework. I also organized volunteering opportunities where members could help math teachers. For example, in February, I was a teaching assistant for Mr. Vaughn’s middle school pre-algebra class. In both cases, though I was familiar with the content, it was a challenge to teach. From my firsthand experience and observations of teachers and fellow leaders, I learned that effective teaching was not simply about writing out the solution, but presenting explanations with clarity and insight. Especially for SAT questions, due to a strict time limit, I had to come up with tips to speed up computation, either by finding non-traditional solutions or analyzing my own mental shortcuts and sharing my thought process. Additionally, whether when solving SAT or algebra problems, because students have diverse math backgrounds, I could not refer to niche theorems or properties. It pushed me to think about the question on a fundamental level and reason using the most basic facts, so that others could understand it intuitively.
Leading the Math Club, I interact both with students who share the same passion in math as I do, and students who self-proclaim hatred or failure in math. What started out as an attempt to share my love for math has transformed into a concern for the state of education in my community, as I realized how many students have math anxiety. Through my efforts, I hope I have made math more accessible, comprehensible, and appreciated.
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