Mark, 22, Mathematics Major

Mark R.

Hello! I am currently an undergrad at the University of South Carolina. I currently have everything I need to graduate with my bachelor’s, including having completed the math major and education minor. However, the reason I haven’t graduated yet is the fact that I decided to add a second minor to my degree.

The math classes I have taken so far at the University of South Carolina are as listed: Calculus I, Calculus II, Vector Calculus, Transition to Advanced Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics I, Vector Analysis, Elementary Number Theory, Statistical Methods and Theory, Real Analysis I, Real Analysis II, Algebraic Structures I, and Math Machine Modeling. My grade in each of these courses were either a B+ or A (with the exception of Analysis I, which was a C+).

For my education minor, I have done two separate practicums, both working with 10th graders, with one of them being for a geometry class.

As an honors student at the University of South Carolina, I have done an honors thesis on how math education can be improved in the current public education system. The main ideas of this thesis revolve around self-efficacy and non-routine questions,

Outside of the university, I have been a chess coach for elementary schoolers since Fall 2024, and I tutored a 4th and a 5th grader during the summer of 2025. The method I generally use when teaching/tutoring is starting with direct instruction, then moving to guided learning (having the student work problems out with help) and finally having the student do the math independently. I would also like to add non-routine questions in my lesson as this is known to exercise critical thinking skills and increase mathematics performance.