Katie Taylor, B.A. 2019
Graduate Student, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
2019 Major: Mathematics with minors in Earth & Ocean Sciences and Education; Secondary Teaching certification in Mathematics
How has being a Mathematics graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?
"Professionally, I have no doubt that the rigor of my undergraduate coursework + support of professors, classmates, and other campus resources were a huge component of my ongoing success in a mathematics PhD program. I am thankful for the ways in which Duke Math students are taught to approach problems, thinking through why we get the answer instead of just how to get some answer. The challenges I faced during these courses also shaped me personally, helping me to learn how to ask for help, how to try again after failure, and how to use what I have learned to teach others."
What advice would you give students in Duke's Mathematics programs?
"Do not settle for the bare minimum. When you are working on a problem, and you can feel that you only kind of understand your answer/are not entirely convinced of the answer you have, take the time to become entirely convinced. Use the resources around you to gain the deepest level of knowledge you can each time you come up with something. That, instead of just surface-level knowledge, will stick with you throughout the course and well beyond. Hear others' understandings, ask for help, try again after failure, and stay curious."
