Math Aunty

I grew up in the D and M of the DMV (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) and spent most of my school aged years in Prince George’s County, Maryland. At Seat Pleasant Elementary School in the stairwell, there was a big banner up with a colorful stick-figure like drawing and the quote “It takes a village to raise a child” and I knew that to be true as the daughter of a single mother with an insatiable curiosity about the world… when momma needs a break from answering questions (and you can’t annoy your older siblings), you ask your aunties! Everyone’s “Aunt Debbie” became ‘Aunty’ when my older sister Felisha gave birth to my nephew Martin and “Aunt Debbie” was too many syllables to say when he wanted the attention of his favorite lady. The name ‘Math Aunty’ is a tribute to the woman who added cheetah print and heels to the shoes that I will fill… the woman who taught me that when giving a hand, give a manicured hand… the woman who modeled how to efficiently tackle the responsibilities that come with love, so we had more time to experience the infinite possibilities that come with love.

I went to Hyattsville and William Wirt Middle Schools before graduating from Bladensburg High School. From my graduating class at Bladensburg High School, 12 of us went to Saint Mary’s College of Maryland. Watching my friends question their brilliance in college math classes didn’t sit right with me. Hearing stories about my friends at various colleges adjusting their dreams around the need to take math classes was my first personal experience of inequity (along race and class) in education covertly functioning as a barrier. Since then, I’ve been learning about the ways that students build their mathematical identity through research and teaching.

I received my B.A. in Mathematics from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2015 where I was a teaching assistant for Calculus 1, Calculus 2, and the Emerging Scholars Program. I also took Accounting classes. I received a M.S. in Mathematics from Kansas State University in 2017 where I taught College Algebra in a summer bridge program MAPS, designed a GRE Math prep course for McNair Scholars, and was a teaching assistant for College Algebra and Calculus. Following this, I returned to Maryland to be closer to my family and realign my path while teaching math for grades 7-12 at the Park School of Baltimore, a private school. I was looking for the grade where a student deemed themselves “not good” at math and stopped actively trying to learn. I found that it doesn’t really matter where it happens, because that work can be undone but unfortunately, tracking in math (putting students in classes based on their skill level) often puts students with low confidence together. Numerous research studies have been done in both math education and other fields that show the effect of peer and teacher influence on your educational experience captured through student reflection. I started Math Aunty so that I could reach more students where they are. I started Math Aunty so that black and brown students see math requirements for graduation as another class to polish their skills and not “the reason why I need to change my major”. I started Math Aunty because being a mathematician is dope and more students need to see that. And if you made it to the end of this biography, I started Math Aunty for you.