LaMsMATYC

My Journey in Mathematics

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Imagine if you will a place where we could turn back time, where we could atone for all the sins of the past, where there is another opportunity to excel. Well, I recently found that place, and it was all that I could have imagined. That place was …..

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Before I give away that answer, I will give you some background information. When I received my master’s degree in 1996, I only wanted to teach. I put in many hours trying to find an opportunity to continue the teaching I had enjoyed in graduate school. I enjoyed it so much, that this was the first time I ever had a goal about what I wanted to do in life. Teaching was the passion that overtook me, and I did not want anything else.  

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But, this was not so easy. Because the chances to teach were few, and I applied for the ones I found without success. I knew that if I wanted to continue to teach in a university, I would need a Phd.  I really did not have the interest in higher math that it would take to pursue that terminal degree. As a matter of fact, I had never been very interested in mathematics, it had only been this obstacle in my life that I had to overcome. I had seen it hold back many people from their dreams in science, math, and engineering. It had done so to a certain degree even for me, as I had not been very academically inclined when I was in high school. It was only something I wanted to get over with, so that I could get into the real world. I had no interest, or particular talent in algebra or geometry that was offered in my school years. I was mostly lost in indifference to math, and so took the practical way to graduation with a class in business math. It sounded good, so that was what I took to meet my last math requirement. 

 

But where it led me, I did not want to go. After graduation, I had a rude awakening like many do when they find out that no one is waiting in line to give them a great position in life. After two years of both training as a welder, then working general construction, I reconnected with an old high school friend who was in college. He had gone away to college a year before my graduation, and was now back to school locally. So, I decided to do the same rational thing that many do: go to college. My scores for ACT were not so good, which placed me in both developmental math, and English. The latter I was able to remedy through placement on the first day into Freshman English, but it took two semesters of remedial math to get to the college level. I breezed through these courses unlike I did in high school, and was eager for more. As a part time student, I was able to concentrate on my two classes, and do well especially when faced with the reality of work each day which acted as motivation for success.

 

When the big semester came to go full time, there was more trouble in paradise. I found that when taking more than two courses, it was very nearly impossible for me to concentrate on all the courses I needed successfully. The college algebra did not go so well, and even the English was not as easy as it was when I was a part time student. To be very direct, I failed miserably. Not failed as in all Fs, but as in Cs and Ds, which after a year got me into trouble. I was able to squeeze past trigonometry, but calculus was like a brick wall to me. Even though I had some flashes of insight in mathematics, I did not have the consistency to succeed in the math and science world. But the strange fact was, some people thought I was good in math, and so I ended up tutoring lower level students which was a bright spot for me, even though I didn’t really feel competent to do so. I ended up pursuing a liberal arts degree, and save for one complication, my career in math might have ended there. That complication was that one too many people told me that I could not handle mathematics. I have the image of an engineering professor telling me after learning i was in liberal arts that I could never do “this kind of math”. 
 

After college, and several short term jobs, I landed a nice job with Digital Equipment Corp. Working for a high tech company was nice, and they also stressed the need for higher mathematics, and paid me to study. It took a couple of years, but I finally got through calculus at Durham Technical Community College in Durham, NC. It was a perfect place for me to take this course of study, as I would find out later in my career.

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A few years later, with the job ending, and some severance money coming, I was off to graduate school, and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics. I was surprised at how easy things were after calculus, but I enjoyed statistics, operations research, and numerical analysis the most. When time came to find a job, there was nothing in teaching to be found, so my first gig was as a statistical programer at the Stennis Space Center. The work was good in some aspects, but it was not fulfilling. I kept my eye out for teaching opportunities at the local community college (Delgado), even though I was working fulltime, and assumed my career was in technology, rather than teaching.

 

But the dot.com crash caused a job loss, and there were too many IT people, and after interviewing for some nice positions, they did not seem to fit. I finally got the chance at Delgado with it’s new site in Covington. The Dean at the time was Dr. Max Reichard, who was a history professor, and my background in the Liberal Arts, made an impression on him, that helped me to do well in my interview. I also found that it would help me communicate with my students who came from similar backgrounds. 

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It was nice coming in with no other FT teachers present since it gave opportunities, but also meant little in the way of mentoring. So, it was a hard transition with more stress than I had ever had in a job, in just teaching five classes. When the department chair responsibilities fell into my lap after the first year, I took it as a way to have a reduced course load, but with more managerial work, this meant less time for me to be a teacher. I was upset on the one hand to not be teaching so much since it took me away from what I wanted to do, but I also saw the challenge of administration as one I wanted to take. I wanted to be close to my students, and support them in their learning, and it was hard to be in charge, and be a teacher. This went on for nearly thirteen years, and although I loved the challenges in front of me, I had forgotten about those teaching goals. And then the Northshore Delgado site was gone, and I faced a new life. But a new life, here or there?  What was to be my future?

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Yes, that place that I was going to start anew, and have that fresh start? The Westbank campus of Delgado Community College. In every respect this seemed like the place for me, and I looked forward to the start after Christmas/New Years. After all, I had spent the best part of my years growing up on the Westbank, and graduated from high school right next door at O. Perry Walker High School. I was looking forward to my Welcome Back Kotter experience. A chance to be a part of the learning experience of students whom I felt this Westbank kinship.

 
So, I started out to live as they lived, and make a difference in their lives, and I tried to get to know my students, to get them to open up, and hopefully give them cause to succeed in mathematics. I also wanted to start by teaching at the entry point for most new students (Basic Mathematics). I had started in math with my college experience not far from where they were beginning, which made it easier for me to relate to them. So, I made it a point to do the work that they were assigned so that I could struggle with them, and see what they faced as students.

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There were a number of opportunities to minister to these students. One of the standouts was an 092 student who could barely log in to a computer. He struggled each class to get into his course, as he was devoid of basic skills. I was able to connect with him due to him being a welder, and that had been my first real job. As he struggled, I told him that he could do the math because I had struggled in welding. I told him that I could never get the hang of overhead welding, and his words were simple: overhead welding is easy as long as you don’t mind getting burned. It was from those words that I was able to open up his mind about math. I told him that math can be easy, if you do not mind being burned.

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I wish I could say that the above student overcame all odds and became a math wiz, but such was not the case. What I can attest to, is that I have I have met many students here that are like him. He wanted to better his life, but had roadblocks. But then, I had plenty of roadblocks, and the most important lesson that we need to learn is that we learn to go around, or over those roadblocks to achieve our dreams. And it is in this place, Delgado Westbank, that I get to fulfill all those imaginings that I had so many years ago. Being here has also given me the opportunity to reconnect with some of the friends that I grew up with here in Algiers. I love it, and I can truly say, I am finally at home!

 

 

 

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Michael Cruz
Professor of Mathematics
Delgado Community College
October 2017