Caroline Leven

by Newsletter staff

You wouldn’t believe it now but Caroline Leven remembers that she didn't like math when she was a kid. “In elementary school I usually didn't get anything above a C in my math classes.”

Caroline’s interest in math began in her tenth grade geometry class in high school. “I think that one part of it was me and the other was the teacher. He obviously enjoyed what he was teaching and it rubbed off on me.”

Caroline began her studies at Eastern Michigan University in the fall of 1996 with a major in elementary education.

However, it was Caroline’s calculus class in the winter semester of 1998 that caused her to realize her real potential as a mathematics major. Caroline participated in one of the first Emerging Scholars Calculus classes at EMU. Students in the Emerging Scholars Calculus program often spend 20 hours a week studying and are found late at night working together on problems. Dr. Folk remembers her "What I've always appreciated about Caroline is her gift of having fun while doing mathematics, along with her willingness to really try anything."

Since Calculus, Caroline has not stopped taking math classes and even wants to get a masters degree in mathematics! Her favorite math classes are Calculus and Differential Equations, and she also likes Astronomy. Caroline has been working as a math tutor for the last year in the math department’s tutoring lab. She”s been on EMU’s track and cross-country team for four years, and maintained a GPA over 3.8.

Caroline participated in the Putnam exam last December. The Putnam Exam is a very challenging annual mathematics competition for undergraduates in the United States and Canada.

Caroline has received a number of honors: Regents Scholarship for the year 2000/2001, member of the Golden Key and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Societies and recipient of the Doc M scholarship from the Mathematics Department.

To relax Caroline likes to run and play computer games. She might curl up with a book from her favorite authors John Grisham or Mary Higginson Clark; until her puppy Speedy wants to play, or until there is some homework to be done.…..