FIRST GARIFUNA MATHEMATICIAN IN WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY: How A Black Woman Is Beating All The Odds from Honduras to USA
- Tell us about your journey to success from La Ceiba, Honduras to Washington State University?
I am from La Ceiba, Honduras. My journey started when I was a little girl with the desire to become a mathematician. In 4th grade, a teacher told me a was very good at math and that she would take me to a
state math Olympiad content.
It was short notice, and I did not have much time to prepare for the
Olympiads, so I remember going to my teacher’s house over the weekends to learn content that we hadn’t seen in class. Long story short, I did not win in the competition, but that event made me feel confident about my identity as a math girl. Some years later, in 9th grade, my classmates asked me for help before math exams. That was frequently happening, so I decided to start a tutoring program for students from my grade and also the grades below. Most of them did great in their tests. I realized then I was going to be a great math teacher. After graduating from high school, I moved to Tegucigalpa (Honduras’ capital) to study a B. Ed. in Mathematics (2010–2013). In 2014 I got my first formal job as a bilingual math/physics teacher. It was a fantastic experience to work with high school students and learn math from them, but I knew I wanted to continue my academic career, so I applied for a scholarship to pursue a master’s degree.
In August 2015, I moved to Ireland to study the Master in Mathematical Modeling and Scientific Computing. I am very proud to say I am the first afro Latina graduating from that program at University College Cork, Ireland. After getting my master’s degree, I moved back to Honduras and worked with preservice math teachers for two years. One day I heard about the opening for Fulbright scholarships, and I applied. Happy to say that I got my second scholarship to pursue the Math and Science doctorate program at Washington State University.
2. What advice would you give to young girls who want to follow your success?
Dream, work, persevere and succeed.\
3. What is your vision in the next 5 years?
In five years, I see myself as a researcher who will create new and equitable educational policies and reforms in the United States and Central America. Education is the key that creates opportunities and opens doors for great academic scenarios. Moreover, my goal is to work for the implementation of
equitable practices in math classrooms. Every child from any culture and background should have access to high-quality educational resources. Also, I will continue sharing my story so that more black, young females enroll in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Finally, I will continue studying the incredible field of mathematics so that my academic journey will be an example for future mathematicians.
