Mathematics Major
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About the Major
Mathematics is everywhere in our world — in the design of a building, the shape of a tree, the decisions made by large corporations, the contours of a soda can, and your own checkbook. Mathematics majors at Elon learn the problem-solving, reasoning and numerical skills that make mathematicians vital in this age of information technology.
Jobs in Mathematics
- Mathematician
- Statistician
- Actuary
- Mathematics teacher
- Data analyst
Past Elon Mathematics Internships
- HSZ Media
- Fidelity Investments
- Jefferies Socks LLC
- Biotelemetry Inc.
- Wells Fargo
Related Majors
Passion for math has guided graduate through various pivots in life
When Lexi Uknis stepped into the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Elon University to pursue research for her major in elementary education, she had no idea that a conversation with one professor would change the trajectory of her career.
As a Teaching Fellow, Uknis had to choose a research topic to explore and was interested in looking at math education through an elementary education focus. She knew her Calculus 1 professor, Aaron Trocki, had done his own research in math education, so she reached out to him at the beginning of her sophomore year to ask if he would be her research mentor.
“The more we talked about teaching [higher-level] math, the more I realized I wanted to specifically specialize in it,” said Uknis, who soon after changed her major to mathematics with teacher licensure. “I was so intrigued by my Calc I class, and then by my research topic, that I realized that’s what I really wanted to focus on with my life.”
She was nervous about making such a leap, as Elon students who seek to teach at the secondary level don’t major in education but instead major in the subject they will be teaching. Uknis wasn’t sure she would have the time to complete a mathematics degree having pivoted during her second year. “I wasn’t really sure I was going to be able to meet that challenge of working through an entire mathematics major, but Dr. Trocki really encouraged me to take that step,” she said.
I was extremely lucky because the professors at Elon are so supportive. Without them and their help taking on this massive workload in such a short period of time, I don’t know that I would have had the same outcome.
Not only was Trocki encouraging, but he and other professors in the department helped keep Uknis on track to complete nearly all of her math courses in one year — a necessity if she was to get in the required study abroad and education courses to graduate with a teaching license.
She squeezed in a linear algebra course online during her study abroad in New Zealand, where she taught calculus as part of the Teaching Fellows program’s requirement to teach in a different cultural environment. During her junior year, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, she crammed in higher-level calculus classes, Mathematical Reasoning, Modern Geometry, and the list goes on.
“I was extremely lucky because the professors at Elon are so supportive,” she said. “Without them and their help taking on this massive workload in such a short period of time, I don’t know that I would have had the same outcome. … The fact that they were able to help me through such high-level math from a distance [during the pandemic] was obviously impressive in and of itself.”
Uknis graduated from Elon in 2021 and taught precalculus for a year at a high school in Charlotte. But while she loved teaching, she couldn’t deny that her desire to do math and keep learning was still present.
“I loved teaching because of my students,” she said. “A lot of them would come up to me after class and say, ‘I’ve never seen somebody so excited about math in my entire life,’ because my goal was to get them as excited as I was about math.” In trying to get them excited about math, she realized she needed more of it in her life.
“I’ve always had the same goal, which is to incorporate math in the ways that make me the happiest, and I’ve just been following that path,” said Uknis, who is now pursuing a career in data science after recently earning her certification. “So I’m going back into math full time through a completely different scope.”
One of the ways Elon best prepared her for life after college was its focus on research. After all, had she not started her research during her sophomore year, she may never have pursued mathematics as a career. But even more than that, the research process taught her how to communicate difficult topics effectively for a broad audience, which she will do as a data analyst.
For more than two years, Uknis worked on her research with Trocki, studying Creswell’s methodology for qualitative data analysis and later funneling in some quantitative data analysis. That research led to her participation in Elon’s Spring Undergraduate Research Forum and a spot in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, where she was able to spend an entire summer pushing her research forward. In her senior year, she was named a Provost Scholar for “outstanding undergraduate research.”
“That research followed me the entire time I was at Elon, and I learned so much about data analysis in general,” she said. “So much so that here I am years later trying to find myself directly back where I was then because I just enjoyed that work so much.”
Uknis has high praise for Elon’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, whose professors always made time to help her “like I was the only undergraduate student in the department.” She said she’s learned through personal experience that the math major can be a foundational stepping stone to a wide variety of careers, as it’s about much more than just numbers.
“I think that there’s something to be said for the aspect of critical thinking and productive struggle in learning mathematics and how it transcends the field,” she said. “Life is full of challenges — it’s about having the determination to find solutions. I think that was something that was most intriguing to me about mathematics.
“I don’t think I would necessarily be the same person I am today if I hadn’t majored in math and been forced, day in and day out, to work with a challenge — to not just rinse and repeat the information and put it back on paper but to move past what I learned and apply it.”
Did You Know?
- Studying mathematics develops such skills as arguing logically and rigorously, thinking abstractly, formulating and solving problems, analyzing data, and creating and analyzing mathematical models. Employers value these skills, and math majors are in demand by employers for careers in a wide spectrum of fields.
- Elon’s mathematics faculty use the latest technology combined with traditional and experiential learning techniques to give students a well-rounded education. Students gain experience with the latest high-tech tools and learn to master a variety of software packages, including Mathematica, Geometer’s Sketchpad and LaTeX.
- Elon’s mathematics faculty enthusiastically mentor students in consequential research, internships and teaching experiences that help to prepare them for careers or graduate school. Mathematics majors are encouraged to conduct original research with faculty members.
Contact:
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics