The Ubiquity of Mathematics: From Everyday Applications to Lifelong Learning
Mathematics is the most commonly applied discipline in the world, with applications in almost every other field. It is applied not just in the classroom, but also in our everyday lives. The educational system is set up in such a way that a person gradually gains mathematical knowledge from the fundamentals to the more advanced levels. Since the world revolves around mathematics on a technological level, it is important that each person become acquainted with mathematics concepts. Counting money, returning change, calculating distance, and calculating time are just a few examples of popular math applications. Gowers (2010) claims that it is impossible to go a day without interacting with any mathematical knowledge.
Nurturing a Passion: My Journey with Mathematics from Interest to Career Aspirations
From a personal point of view, mathematics is essential in our day to day lives as well as professionally. I have never had any negative attitude towards math. I am open to learning new concepts day in day out as I am it helps me grow intellectually and helps me develop better skills of critical thinking and decision making. The EDReady demonstration helped me realize more ways in which I would develop my passion into not only a career but a livelihood as well. The minute I was introduced to the world of mathematics, I automatically felt at home. I considered it a form of exercise for my mind rather than normal education. To me, it was a tool that would expand my logical thinking while enabling me to think critically at the same time. The basic concepts that were introduced to us in the first grade were fascinating. I progressively gained interest in anything in my environment that seemed mathematical. As we progressed, we were familiarized with more complex concepts. Nevertheless, I never lost hope as my passion for this discipline grew day in, day out. On reaching sixth grade, it was quite vivid to me that I would pursue a career in mathematics. My mother noted my interest in math and encouraged me, all ways she could. Also, she encouraged me to participate in contests in school that would improve my grasping of the various concepts. My teachers also played a great role in developing my interest. One afternoon while I was perusing the internet, I came across Your Guide to College Success: Strategies for Achieving Your Goals by Halonen & Santrock, 2013. Never before had I ever read an interesting yet an inspiring story on people developing their interests. It was this time that I knew that I would choose a career path that involved mathematics. The book gave me lots confidence that I could achieve anything I had set out to do.
Charting a Course: Navigating the World of Mathematics Towards a Career in Actuarial Science
Mathematics is a broad discipline, and as such, I had a wide range of career choices. I first had to gain knowledge of the various sub-divisions so that I would familiarize myself with my area of specialization. After careful consideration and a lot of consultations, I settled for statistics. This branch of math seemed to make sense to me in that it could be used in various areas. Wasserman (2013) describes statistics as science that involves the collection of raw data, analyzing it and recording the findings for a future intended use. The data is then organized and interpreted according to the intended use. To be an excellent statistician I would need to enroll in several classes that would help me sharpen my skills. There are two main branches of statistics, descriptive and inferential. I am more passionate with inferential statistics, which involves analyzing already collected data and coming up with conclusions (Wasserman, 2013). I feel this branch would challenge me more to think critically to come up with accurate conclusions. With this knowledge, I would be able to pursue a career in actuarial science more comfortable. I chose the path of actuarial science as it involves not only statistics but also pure and applied math. My particular choice suits my needs in all dimension in that I would be able to enjoy my passion and at the same time pursue a full-time career.
Empowering Dreams: Unveiling My Mathematical Journey with EDReady and the Pursuit of Actuarial Science
In a pursuit of finding a career path, I landed on EDReady, a website that guides students and assists them to discover their strengths and find a career that suits them. This website helped me sharpen my skills further. During my free time, I was able to take online classes and after a given period sit for a test. Most of what I learned from this website was not taught in school. Also, it helped me to review the already acquired skills and helped me apply them in particular areas. I would say that this site has greatly supplemented my classwork. The site offers a variety of classes depending on the level one selects. Also, it provides a classroom environment in that one is able to interact with other students online and share knowledge. The greatest aspect of the site is that they offer a given course in the progression of difficulty. Once you select your instructor, he or she ensures that you grasp the concepts well before proceeding to the next topic. Also, they encourage the students to ask questions and take as many tests as possible to ensure perfection.
All in all, I must say that my journey of discovering my passion for mathematics has been an exciting one. At earlier ages, my friends discriminated against me claiming that I was selfish and never wanted to share my knowledge. Contrary to this, I always assisted anyone who came to me for help. My secret was the extra step that I took to make sure that I actualize my dream of pursuing a course that involved lots of mathematics. Currently, I am waiting for a letter of confirmation from California Institute of Technology to pursue a career in actuarial science. Without self-belief and support from my parents, I sure would not have been at this stage of my life.
References
Halonen, J., & Santrock, J. (2013). Your Guide to College Success: Strategies for Achieving Your Goals (7th ed.). Boston, Mass.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Gowers, T. (2010). Mathematics: Brief insight (1st ed.). New York, NY: Sterling.
Wasserman, L. (2013). All of Statistics: A Concise Course in Statistical Inference. New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
