Overview of the Program
Dr. Craviotto (left) and Dr. Soto (right)
Started in Summer 2008 by mathematics professors Dr. Hortensia Soto-Johnson and Dr. Cathleen Craviotto, Las Chicas de Matematicás is a $31,000 program funded through UNC's office of enrollment management and the Mathematical Association of America's Tensor Foundation. The summer math camp, which includes a week-long stay in Snyder Hall, is free to participants.
The people and activities at past math camps are remarkably diverse (crump dancing and yoga were big hits), but you can find out more by reviewing the Photo Galleries, Camp C's, and movies developed by the participants themselves.
For more information on who can apply to the math camp, see the Application Pages.
The Camp C's
careers, community, concentration, confidence and Challenge
This section is where math camp participants describe the five C's of math camp. For examples of the kinds of things we do at Math Camp, see the Photos or watch us on the The Las Chicas Math Channel on YouTube.
Overview of the Camp C's
This information on the Camp C's was put together by Cagla and Sara as part of "Technology Day" in October, 2009. The quotes, links, and summaries are a combination of Cagla and Sara's views and excerpts from other girls and their journals. We hope you enjoy reading about some of the things that make Math Camp so special for us.
Cagla and Sara's suggested slogan for camp:
"Calculate, Challenge, create Confidence...
Inspire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Careers
“a chosen pursuit”
Speakers from all over the country came to speak at our camp. We learned many unique careers that math is involved in. Math is used for many careers in all different ways. Calculating sound waves, designing robots, cracking codes, doing statistics, engineering, and designing flu vaccinations, all involve math.
Quote from Participant
The speakers have shown me that math can take you ANYWHERE! From a lab set against malaria to an entire campus against excess waste, math can be found.
Link
Community
“a unified body of individuals”
At math camp we became a family. It did not matter what part of the state we came from, how old we were, or what race we were. Within minutes we were all friends joking with each other, making friends. Everyone helped everyone else. No one was left out; everyone was included.
Quote from Participant
The best part of camp was meeting new friends. I could really be myself.
Link
Concentration
“exclusive attention to one object”
We would sit with each other at our tables, trying to solve whatever problem we were on. The chocolate was a temptation for distraction but we managed to stay on task. To be able to solve the upper level math that we were doing required full attention during the lessons and even more while doing homework.
Quote from Participant
I am not used to being challenged in math so I learned how to pay really close attention and ask questions.
Link
Confidence
“the quality or state of being certain”
At the end of Math Camp, we all had confidence. We could all talk to each other about anything and became really close. All of our math skills improved and we knew that we could always solve a problem, because we figured out new ways to approach problems. Sometimes, we would stay up until midnight trying to solve a problem. Quitting was never the answer. We had the confidence to answer questions and class and even teach everyone else how we solved the problem.
Quote from Participant
What I’ve learned about myself this week is that I am actually not that shy…The speakers have impacted me by showing me different jobs and by getting me interested in different work fields.
Link
mathconfidence.comChallenge
“a stimulating task or problem”
We worked hard every day. Our work was cut out for us. No one was smart enough to just slide by; we all had to work to our goal. The problems we did were hard but we all had the math skills required to figure out every single one of them.
“Socrates once said, in order for one to grow and learn, they must experience a tension of the mind.”