Students find community in the SEMO Math Club

Members of the Math Club at SEMO strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for anyone interested in math on campus.

The Math Club, as explained by a professor in the Department of Mathematics and faculty advisor Dr. Andrew Schwartz, is a student-led organization dedicated to the practice, application and love of math.

“The Math Club is a club for students who are either interested in math or in math-related adjacent fields to come together in a social setting. Also, to expose members and guests to mathematics that they’re not going to get inside of a normal classroom setting.” Schwartz said.

The organization is interested in celebrating the art of math and deepening members’ understanding of the concept.

Additionally, the club provides opportunities to learn how to apply math in life after college. This can be seen further within the meetings held every first and third Wednesday of any given month at 219 Johnson Hall, where presentations are shown on many mathematical topics.

“Sometimes, we have guest speakers that would come from industry or government backgrounds that would talk about how they use mathematics in their field, and what courses the students should be looking to take to pursue the same career,” Schwartz said.

In addition to monthly meetings, the Math Club also holds fundraisers and events for various charities and organizations.

Senior Applied Mathematics major and president of the Math Club Gavin Stone shared an example that is making a comeback.

“Our Pie the Professor was pretty good, and that’s actually an event we will be doing later on in the spring,” Stone said. “It’s a tradition we brought back that was pre-COVID, where you have jars attached to different math professors’ names, and you put money into these math professors’ jars. Whoever’s jar has the most money gets pied by me. We made quite a bit of money out of that, and it was really fun.”

Between the club meetings and fundraisers, there are plenty of opportunities to meet and connect with like-minded individuals who share the same passion for math.

“If you are a math major or math minor, this is the place to meet friends.” Stone expressed. “Usually, people that attend the Math Club are the high achievers within the department. So, if you want to get to know those people, the Math Club’s a great place to meet. If you’re looking for people with similar interests, that’s certainly something to look forward to.”

Though the club may seem academically intimidating on the surface, Dr. Schwartz assures students that the club is accessible to everyone with all experiences in math.

“An enthusiasm of mathematics is the only requirement,” Dr. Schwartz said. “We welcome students of all levels, from freshman to graduate students with all kinds of backgrounds and majors. Some of our past officers have even had majors outside of mathematics. We have had dance majors, for instance, who were interested in the intersection between mathematics and dance that have been officers.”

For those interested, there are many resources available on campus to learn more about the club.

Sophomore Actuarial Science Major and Vice President of the Math Club Jarrett Baker shared a few that anyone can take advantage of around campus.

“We put up flyers around Johnson Hall and all across campus,” Baker said. “We advertise for our events that we have or even for small meetings where we have someone coming in to give a presentation. Contact me, or Gavin, as well would always be open to questions from people joining the Math Club.”

Students can join the Math Club online via the club’s page on SEMO’s website.

Students can also contact the club directly through Gavin Stone’s email @gmstone1s@semo.edu