Teachers have a responsibility to help students find joy in learning and the process of discovering their passions. In addition, they must set an example for students: treating students and everyone at school with the utmost humanity, so that students can set high standards for how they are treated and how they treat others.”
Katie’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Mathematics
Why Mathematics
“I first found my love of math in eighth grade geometry. In high school, I found belonging in math spaces like the math team and my job as a Mathnasium instructor. I love math because I love patterns, logic, and solving challenging puzzles.”
Professional Experience
Katie spent her high school career involved in STEM as a prevalent member of the math and robotics teams. During her undergraduate studies, she volunteered with Code for Fun, where she helped lead three of their one-week long introductory coding camps for children. She spent six years working as a Mathnasium instructor at Mathnasium of St. Paul, where she assisted students in grades two to twelve in their mathematics coursework. Before deciding to begin her graduate studies, Katie worked on the Mineral project at Google X as a software engineer. This project aimed to revolutionize agriculture through machine learning and robotics, and Katie, specifically, worked on the infrastructure team, where she designed and built systems that processed massive amounts of plant related data in various forms.
Katie will begin her first year of teaching mathematics at Madison Park Academy in Oakland, California, during the 2023–2024 school year.
Hobbies
In her free time, Katie enjoys playing dungeons and dragons with friends, and taking on the role of the bard. During each session, she enjoys writing and playing her own songs on the ukulele. Katie also has a bearded dragon named Earnest, who she loves and cares for.
Academic Background
- University of Minnesota (Bachelor of Science in Computer Science)
- University of California, Berkeley (Master of Arts in Education)