2019 Senior Stories
Two students took Math 412 Connections Seminar in Spring 2019. Here are their short personal stories.
Rae Ann Miller
I am majoring in mathematics, getting licensed in mathematics secondary education (5-12), and a bible, religion, and philosophy education certificate from Goshen College. Throughout college, I have enjoyed getting to participate in many extracurricular activities such as: Voices of the Earth choir, intramurals, softball, Goshen Monologues, and Unity. I have also been able to grow my leadership skills through being a resident assistant, working on the Campus Activities Council, and being a teachers assistant. Because Goshen College is a liberal arts school, I have been able to explore other passions I have while studying mathematics. While at Goshen College, I have discovered that I have a deep passion for studying religion and the Christian faith. I have been able to use my free electives to take a course called Congregational Ministries, where I was given the opportunity to give a sermon at my local church, and the opportunity to take a class at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. I also participated in Goshen College’s Study-Service Term where I spent three months in Peru. In Peru, I was placed with two different host families where both of my fathers were pastors in Peruvian churches. I loved learning about and experiencing the similarities and differences between the Mennonite churchs that I grew up in and the Christian churches I was welcomed into in Peru. For my SST culminating paper, I was able to study how different environments can affect our faith perspectives. As I graduate college, my plan is to become a math teacher at a local scchool. I plan to empower the next generation though a crucial understanding of mathematics and the knowledge that the world and mathematical concepts are much bigger than just what they see inside the walls of their school.
Colleen Weldy
In the ten years from third grade to my senior year of high school, I always enjoyed my mathematics courses, and I would always take the highest classes each of my schools had to offer. When I graduated high school, however, I was unsure about what I wanted to do as a career, nor did I know where to attend college.
In the end I decided to attend Goshen College for a few different reasons. The first reason was that I am a Mennonite; I liked that I would be surrounded by other students who share my faith and values. I soon came to find that GC was not just for Mennonite students, but rather for a more diverse population, thus letting me participate in many conversations that challenged and helped me to grow. Another reason I chose GC was the fact that it was close to my home. I had to be able to pay for my own schooling, so I needed a school that was both close to home, so that I could commute to/from school, and I also needed a school that would be affordable for me with working part-time at a local drug store. Upon applying and seeing what types of aid I could get from the school, GC was obviously going to be my best option. I began as a chemistry major at GC, then switched to a mathematics education major after my sophomore year.
However, as a commuter student, I was not expecting to have the typical “college experience” many of my other childhood friends would experience. I wouldn’t have the freedom many young adults experience, nor would I as easily feel the sense of independence most experience during college. Mostly, I was not expecting to make those life-long bonds many students create as they go through living close to one another. Today, as a sixth-year senior, I am happy to report that I was wrong on the latter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the commuter students created their own community within the college, where we could share a space, stories, and experiences with one another. Some of the closest friends I have today came from being in the Commuter Lounge, a space where commuter students can go to relax, do homework, or meet other commuter students before/between/after classes.
During what I had thought was going to be my final year at GC, my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma and passed away four months later in February. In that time Goshen College was more than accommodating with helping me finish my degree. While this year I did begin my career as a math teacher at Goshen Middle School (as a long term substitute for now), GC has been extremely helpful in working with me to finish my credits in the coming year. Now that my time at GC is closing, I look forward to officially becoming a math teacher at Goshen Middle School. After that, I cannot wait to see what lies ahead.