by Harut Boyajyan and Benjamin Green
Ms. Evans joined The Science Academy STEM Magnet this year as our newest math teacher. She teaches 6th grade Pre-Algebra and 12th grade AP Statistics and Data Science. When you walk into her classroom, one of the first things you learn is how much she loves math! Recently, we had an opportunity to ask her some questions to learn more about her background.
How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching for 17 years full time, after 5 years teaching part time for Upward Bound.
What did you do before becoming a teacher?
I was a test engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company, in El Segundo, CA. My division tested the control panel that directed the movement of the satellites once in space. I worked with a team of technicians that did the physical soldering of components according to the schematic and instructions. I completed the testing to verify all connections before our panel was added to the larger controls for the satellites. Another part of my job was to rewrite the test manuals that were outdated: they were confusing and I was allowed to make changes. I was also a part of a program they started with the government, since we had a lot of government contracts, to promote engineering as a career to younger students. I would share with students about what I did on my job, along with my academic journey getting my degree in Electrical Engineering. The hope was to open the thinking for young people who may not have even considered engineering as an option for them, and make myself available for questions and give support.
What led you to become a teacher?
My mother was an amazing elementary teacher in Oakland during the years that crack devastated our community. I saw her heart and work and tears…and vowed I would NEVER teach, LOL. But then one child with no hope changed my entire life trajectory.
Part of my job with Hughes was to do monthly visits to various schools to promote engineering as a career. I visited classrooms from elementary to high school. At an elementary school in Compton, I start talking about my life, growing up in inner city Oakland, my mom being a teacher, and my journey into the beautiful world of math. This kid raised his hand and told me—he was maybe in 5th grade—that he wasn't going to college, that no one in his neighborhood had ever gone to college, and in fact he didn't know anyone who had ever gone to college. I went on to explain that didn't matter because it was his life and his choices. He completely shut down, and everything became like a joke — he could not believe it even though I was standing in front of him, an example of someone who looked like him and came from a similar community, and had made it. An example of someone who also had never known an engineer and wasn't sure about becoming one, but I still did it. Someone who should have caused him to think, maybe me too.
I went to my car and balled my eyes out. I was thinking, how could it be that a kid not even 10 years old could feel so hopeless about the possibility of his future and did not see college as something to uplift him? That is what did it. I have never forgotten that little face and his complete assurance in what he was saying. “Who stole the dreams of a child?” was my question, and I was going to change that for as many as I could. And, I have, honestly. I have. I had to teach.
You've said that math is beautiful - in what way?
Math is so beautiful, it's truly just gorgeous. It takes things that look so complicated, but you apply just a few rules and it becomes something so simple. Math builds on itself, which is beauty, and the basic principles undergirding math never change, no matter how far or advanced you go. Most importantly is that it's everywhere: in language, in music. Think of anything you love, math is there waiting for you, not asking anything of you, and ready to show you something you hadn't seen before. Now that's beauty!
What is your favorite mathematical symbol or concept?
Hmmm, that is a tricky one. I would say infinity.…it holds so much depth, faith, and wonder at the same time.
What is your favorite sport?
SOCCER! I was a soccer mom for 15 years, the best years EVER!
Ms. Evans with her cousin and granddaughter at the FIFA World Cup - Morocco vs. Haiti
What are some of your favorite hobbies?
Singing, and then the beach — just sitting, I could sit there all day. Riding the train to the beach (LOL), I love that.
Ms. Evans at the beach with her daughter and granddaughter in Florida
After a stressful day at school, what is the first thing you do when you get home?
Get down on my knees and thank God I made it!
If you had to give up teaching math for a day, what other subject would you like to teach and why?
Oooo, I would teach song writing, which is math hidden (often not so hidden) within melody and rhythm.
Do you play any board or card games and if so, what is your favorite?
Uno (only with my grandson who thinks he is better than me) with the Pokémon Uno cards I bought for him, and Taboo (our family favorite).
Thank you, Ms. Evans! Welcome to our Science Academy community!