Colquitt High School students who participated in VSU’s Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day included Stella Nash, Lizabeth Norman, Guadalupe Aguilar, Moctezuma Araceli Varillas-Rodriguez, Layla Thompson and Maggie Chen. Accompanying the students was teacher Amanda Nelson. (Submitted photo)

VALDOSTA — The 28th Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day (SK Day) was held at Valdosta State University on April 17. Among the participants was a team from Colquitt County High School.

SK Day consists of a program of hands-on workshops, career speakers, and a contest. The purpose of the day is to encourage students to continue their study of mathematics.  The director of the event was Dr. Denise Reid, a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics. There were 18 schools in attendance at this year’s SK Day. There was a total of 136 participants.

This year’s program began with a welcome by Dr Sheri Noviello, VSU interim provost and vice president of academic affairs. The career speaker for the day was Reagan Cook, who works as a data analyst and is an AI in manufacturing Fellow through Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. There was also a math competition during the event. The participants were treated to a light breakfast in the morning and taken to VSU’s Palm dining hall for lunch. Door prizes were drawn at the beginning and end of the day.

Three workshops were held during the day. Patti Roberton, a lecturer in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, led a workshop titled “Can Joy Smell Parkinson’s.” In this workshop the students participated in a real-world application of statistics and probability. 

Dr. Denise Reid, a professor of mathematics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, led a workshop titled “Six Problems to Ponder.” In this workshop the students worked as teams and used manipulatives to solve non-routine challenge problems. 

The final workshop of the day was led by Sarah Glass and Lauren Taunton, two VSU seniors majoring in applied mathematics with secondary education certification. Their workshop was titled “The Platonic Solids” and in this workshop the students explored these shapes and built models of each to take back to their schools.

Sponsors for the day included VSU College of Science and Mathematics, VSU Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, VSU Provost Office, VSU Admissions Office, VSU Auxiliary Services, Publix, Texas Instruments, Hawkes Learning, Wild Adventures, Wiley Publishing, and Cengage.