MathPath 2024 is afoot!

On June 30th, the staff, faculty, and counselors of MathPath 2024 welcomed over 100 students to the beautiful campus of Rockhurst University. Some students drove with family, some arrived by way of the airport, but everyone showed up with excitement for the month ahead. Once everyone had safely arrived, they met their counselors and headed off to a wonderful dinner provided by the Rockhurst dining staff. They settled into their rooms, had a tour of campus with their counselors, made it to bed on time, and woke up the next morning ready for their first full day of MathPath.

Counselor JJ and his group enjoy the giant chair outside Xavier - Loyolla Dorm

On Monday - the first full day of MathPath, students assembled in the auditorium in Pedro Arrupe Hall for the MathPath Orientation. Executive Director Lara Pudwell (Prof. Pudwell) welcomed everyone and talked about how everyone who does math and is a person, is, by definition, a math person. Camp Director April Verser (April) introduced the counselors and staff, and provided a run-down about the daily activities of the camp, including rules and expectations. Academic Director Matt Delong (Prof. D) explained the academic structure of MathPath, including breakouts and plenaries, and introduced those faculty members that had already arrived on-site to teach in the coming week. Overall, the orientation set a wonderful tone for the start of this summer, highlighting the collaborative and supportive mission of MathPath.

Executive Director Lara Pudwell introduces MathPath to the students


After introductions, Dr. Sam Vandervelde (Dr. V) launched the academic content of MathPath with a presentation on how to find the middle term of a fibonacci sequence. This plenary involved the golden ratio and a surprising array of integers. Students then toured the academic classrooms so they could see all of the spaces they will be occupying this month! Following lunch, students heard “Show and Tell” - a presentation (given by the faculty) - of all the different breakouts that will take place for the first week. The breakout offerings include past favorites like Dr. Glen Van Brummelen’s (Glen) Heavenly Mathematics and Dr. Asia Matthews’s (Dr. Asia) Visual Group Theory, along with plenty of new and unique offerings like Dr. Cornelia Van Cott’s (Dr. Van Cott) Integer Hokey Pokey and Dr. Geremias Polanco’s (Dr. Polanco) A Short Research Experience in Sequences, a glimpse into the world of mathematics research!


Counselor Manuela and her group during the campus tour


The students spend the afternoon of their first day with a campus-wide scavenger hunt that included acquiring signatures from faculty members, reciting original poetry to one of the senior staff assistants, and touching grass (bonus points for extra different grassy-areas touched)! After dinner, students had the chance to participate in their first of many free-time activities. Selections on Monday evening included capture the flag, chess, chilling in the hammocks on campus, reading quietly on the patio, and hanging out in the lounges of our residence halls.


Foosball competition was fierce among both students and counselors

We’re looking forward to the rest of the week, as students begin their breakouts, continue making friends, experience new activities, and hear tantalizing plenary lectures from Dr. V and Glen throughout the week. The students are also excited to complete the daily PoDs - correct solutions will contribute to a rising thermometer for the entire camp - and a wonderful surprise awaits the students upon completion!


Stay tuned to hear more about the coming week, Saturday activities, and more!

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