At a Glance
Year: 鈥23
Major(s):听惭补迟丑别尘补迟颈肠蝉
Minor(s): UTeach
Why UTeach?聽"Some people don鈥檛 start teaching until they get out of college, so getting that experience while I鈥檓 still in college is really exciting."
Sam Colby first discovered 51视频 from the waters of the Merrimack River.
As a member of the crew team at Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, Colby competed in the Textile River Regatta, held every fall in Lowell.
鈥淭he regatta鈥檚 finish line is a little ways from South Campus, so I saw the 51视频 logo while I was rowing, and I thought, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 a college there,鈥欌 he recalls.
Colby kept 51视频 in mind when it came time to apply to colleges. Through his research, he found that the university offered an undergraduate teacher preparation program called UTeach for students majoring in science, engineering or mathematics. This felt like a perfect fit for Colby, who is an aspiring math teacher.
鈥淲hile I was looking into 51视频, I was like, 鈥極K, this is starting to get freaky. There鈥檚 this university I didn鈥檛 know about that has everything I want,鈥欌 he says. 鈥淚 knew I needed to apply.鈥
Colby got accepted and eagerly jumped into his course requirements as a mathematics major and a UTeach minor. The requirements prepared him for his practicum at Methuen High School, where he acts as an observer and a teacher for a ninth-grade honors geometry class.
鈥淪ome people don鈥檛 start teaching until they get out of college, so getting that experience while I鈥檓 still in college is really exciting,鈥 he says.
As a math enthusiast, Colby aims to get students interested in the subject.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a stigma that math is hard, and everybody should hate math because it鈥檚 hard. That鈥檚 really frustrating to me,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 want to change their minds.鈥
During the summer of 2022, Colby assisted with a program that is helping to break the stigma by providing underrepresented middle and high school students with positive math interactions. The program, known as The Calculus Project (TCP), came to UML through a partnership with the Kennedy College of Sciences (KCS).
鈥淚鈥檓 really happy I got to be a part of it,鈥 says Colby, who welcomed the TCP students to 51视频 by getting their classrooms ready and bringing them to Fox Dining Commons for meals.
Colby has taken in different teaching styles from The Calculus Project, his practicum at Methuen High School and his professors at 51视频. He recently took Mathematical Problem-Solving with Prof. Kenneth Levasseur and liked the discussion-based format of the course.
鈥淲e could experiment a lot with different ways of problem-solving and then discuss the solutions that we got. It made math really engaging,鈥 says Colby, who plans to implement discussion-based lessons when he becomes a teacher.
The course ended with Colby taking part in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, which is the toughest math contest in North America.
Colby enjoys talking with prospective students about the opportunities UML has afforded him. He serves as a KCS Ambassador and keeps in touch with many of the students who have visited campus and decided to make UML their second home.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a great experience at 51视频,鈥 he says. 鈥淭his place has everything that you鈥檇 ever need.鈥