Noyce Scholar Profile
Nolan DeMent
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Mathematics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Texas A&M University
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
n/a
Background:
I am a senior mathematics major at Texas A&M University. I am heavily involved in my university’s symphonic bands where I play the leading part in the trumpet section. I am also an avid runner and look forward to competing in the Houston Half Marathon in January of 2013! I am an uncle to an adorable little girl, named Charlotte.
My coursework includes a variety of different studies in math, but I particularly enjoy cyptography and number theory. I plan to graduate in May of 2013 with my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with two minors–statistics and music.
Why do you want to teach:
During my undergraduate career, I have served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the Department of Mathematics at Texas A&M University. These experiences, combined with my acquired knowledge in my content area, have provided an enriched insight to the deficits that college students possess in university-level math courses. The root of these deficits exist in the secondary/high school classrooms where students severely lack the motivation required to be successful in math beyond their high school curriculum. It is through these realizations and my affiliation with the National Science Foundation’s Noyce Program that I am able to confidently devote my professional career to better equipping future generations with the skills and tools they need to be successful individuals in their post-high school lives.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
A memorable experience for me occurred during one of my first experiences as an undergraduate teaching assistant. There was a specific student who almost had no hope of passing for the semester (based off of his previous performances on exams). He began coming in to the office for assistance, but he had waited far too long to begin seeking help and was pulling at strings just to pass.
After consistent sessions with the students, he began devoting himself to passing this course. He gave up extracurricular activities, stayed up late reworking homework problems and lived outside his math professor’s office. Seeing this student succeed at the end of the semester was astonishing to me because I witnessed an immense amount of academic maturity take place. The student set goals for himself and worked diligently to achieve them without stepping down or giving up. The student earned a B in the course, and to this day, remains to be one of the brightest and hardest working students I have had the privilege to serve.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has served as a springboard from my collegiate experiences into my professional career. The program has provided professional development opportunities where I can gain valuable knowledge from other esteemed scholars (past and present). It has given me the incredible experience of working hands-on with some of our university’s best and brightest faculty members to discuss future projects in our fields of study. Lastly, it has provided me with a monetary supplement to offset some of the strenuous costs of pursuing my higher education. For these reasons, the Noyce program has been an incredible experience that I hope continues on for future National Science Foundation scholars.
