Strengthening a continuously-growing community: highlights of Math Majors' Gathering 2024

The Department of Mathematics, in partnership with the Ateneo Mathematics Society (AMS), hosted its annual Math Majors’ Gathering last 20 August 2024 at the Leong Hall Auditorium. The gathering was an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of undergraduate and graduate math students, and to share the activities of the department for the upcoming school year. 

AMS President Deanne Gabrielle Algenio (3 BS AMDSc) opened the gathering by sharing the motivation for the event, and the hope that the community will be inspired by its members’ achievements and experiences in the past year. 

Afterwards, Department Chair Dr Romina Yap shared the programs and initiatives of the department that aim to facilitate the formation of its students. Among these is the Freshman Enhancement Program aiming to enhance the first-year math majors’ familiarity with foundational Precalculus topics, and to prepare them for their Calculus classes. For those in the higher years, the Mathematics Research Seminar Series was once again introduced to expose them to potential research topics. Dr Yap also mentioned the department’s plan for a Specialization in Actuarial Science program. This program is currently under development, with the department gathering insights from students, alumni, and other stakeholders.

The next portion of the event was dedicated to recognizing the students’ achievements in competitions, participation in conferences, publications, and performance in professional examinations. Among those recognized, a few students were invited to share their experiences. 

The first to speak was Jose Lorenzo Abad (4 BSM AMF) who talked about his experiences studying in HAN University of Applied Sciences in Arnhem, Netherlands. He also encouraged his fellow students to consider participating in the Summer Term Abroad program. Next, the team consisting of Sted Micah Cheng (4 BS AMDSc), Clarence James Monterozo (4 BS AMDSc), and Francine Tarrazona (4 BS AMDSc) shared some tips that helped them while competing in the Philippine Junior Data Science Competition 2023. Their team placed 6th (out of 165) in the said competition. 

Graduate students were also well-represented in the gathering. Kurt Anthony De Los Santos (MS Math) talked about his time presenting at the 2024 Mathematics Society of the Philippines Convention. For international conferences, Guinever Vera (PhD Math Ed) shared her learnings from when she presented her work at the 5th International Network for Didactic Research in University Mathematics (INDRUM) Conference and the 15th International Congress on Mathematical Education. Both speakers reminisced about their interactions with fellow researchers and about enjoying what the conference venues have to offer.

After the student talks, singer-songwriter Franz Guico (4 BSM AMF) graced the crowd with a heartfelt performance of his original compositions titled "takipsilim" and “dahan dahan ka nang nawawala.” Indeed, math majors are a diverse group of people with their own talents and aspirations.

Another highlight of the program were the words of encouragement from Fr Bienvenido Nebres, SJ. Fr Nebres  reminded the audience that while it can be difficult, we should still enjoy solving problems. The thrill of finding a solution is an incredible feeling that can stay with someone for a long time. He also talked about the current efforts to help revitalize the education of children in remote areas of the country, and invited the audience to consider using their skills to help solve such problems.

Fr Nebres’ remarks also concluded the main plenary of the Math Majors’ Gathering. Afterwards, the sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students were ushered to their respective breakout sessions where members of the faculty discussed topics that are relevant to their year level and degree programs. Most of the discussions centered around the challenges and opportunities that they should expect for the incoming school year.

The gathering ended with smiles and newfound connections — the strengthening of a continuously-growing community.

All photos courtesy of AMS.