Sandra E. Becker

By newsletter staff

Sandy's fourth grade teacher wrote on her final report card: "Sandy should be encouraged to study math."

Sandy considers herself lucky to have learned Cemrel-based mathematics in elementary school, because she was exposed to modular arithmetic, set theory, and algebra at a young age. Sandy says " I loved it! My fourth grade teacher was a math specialist, and she was the person who most encouraged my fascination with math."

Sandy Becker transferred from the University of Michigan to attend Eastern Michigan University about 4 years. In December, Sandy will graduate with a double major in mathematics and written communication. Dr. Ahlbrandt remembers her from class, "Sandy was not only an excellent student and a joy to have in class, but she also found all the spelling and grammatical mistakes in my tests and corrected them, while she took the test!"

Sandy always wanted to study math. Her calculus professor at the University of Michigan had endorsed her as "The Calculus Guru of Ann Arbor" however, she did not know if she wanted to major in mathematics. She says today, "I decided, for sure, to study math when I was doodling calculus problems in a history class! That energy needed to be focused somewhere."

Sandy's favorite math classes are those with an emphasis on proofs, like Math 211 (Introduction to Mathematical Proof) and Math 411 (Abstract Algebra). Sandy can often be found tutoring in the Math Lab helping other math students as they learn to write proofs. She is doing this so well that she has earned the title of "Proofmeister" from her fellow tutors. Thanks to Dr. Warren, she reluctantly grew to love probability too. Dr. Warren says: "I think that Sandy found both a home and a life-long passion for mathematics at EMU. In addition to being one of our finest students, she has become a terrific tutor and mentor for other students."

Here are some examples of Sandy's successes: She received the Women's Commission Scholarship, gave a wonderful presentation at the 2001 Undergraduate Research Symposium on the Mathematics of close elections, participated twice in the Mathematical Modeling Contest and received a honorable mention in 2000. From the Math department she received among others the awards for Highest Achievement in Mathematics and for Outstanding Contribution to the Math Tutoring Program.

In addition to her math classes Sandy likes art, history, dramatic literature and technical writing. She developed a brochure for the Hands-On-Museum in Ann Arbor, and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity as their year round photographer. She also plays the piano, takes lots of photos, likes to dance, ride her bike, attend church, and generally enjoys life with all of its ups and downs.

After graduation Sandy hopes to find a job related to mathematics and is considering graduate school. She says, " I feel like I have a lot more math to learn, and I love math more with every class I take. I might end up teaching at a college."