If you are an undergraduate interested in attending our events, please fill in the form to keep up to date:
If you are a graduate student, postdoc or faculty member interested in being involved, please use the following link to sign up to the mailing list:
FGLI stands for First-Generation and/or Low-Income. MSU defines a first-generation college student as someone whose parents did not complete a 4-year degree. Low-income means any student from a low-income background. Having said that, there are many reasons a student could have a similar experience to those in the above categories without either definition technically applying. Therefore, for our purposes, "FGLI" includes any student who feels that this may be the case for them.
We aim to help students who are either enrolled in or considering a major or minor in mathematics to find suitable mentors and build community. We will be holding dinner events where you can meet faculty and graduate students with FGLI backgrounds, and others, in a relaxed setting. If you are interested in attending, please sign up using the link above to stay informed of future events. These events are open to all: the only requirement is that you should be considering or enrolled in, a major or minor in math. Please check this page, or sign up using the links above, for updates.
The next dinner is Friday September 26 at 4:30PM in Wells Hall D101 (Pizza). The subsequent ones will be Friday October 24 and Friday November 21.
We also plan to run an informal mentor system, where any interested undergraduates will be paired with a suitable faculty member and graduate student who they can meet with as often as they wish.
I know from experience that being a first-generation college student can be disorienting, and mentorship is an important part of overcoming this. Finding mentors who understand our experience is particularly difficult for FGLI students because these identities are not often visible, which makes identifying appropriate mentors more challenging. Our program is intended to offer a simple way to overcome this, and help our FGLI students begin a successful career in mathematics, whether inside or outside of academia.
I am Joe Waldron (assistant professor), and our other organizers are Rajesh Kulkarni (professor) and Luke Seaton (graduate student). I would also like to acknowledge the valuable contributions of former organizer Matt Lorentz (postdoc) who is no longer at MSU.
I am a first-generation college student myself, and I well know the challenges this presents. I was born in a small town in the east of England, and claiming that I intended to study math at Cambridge seemed almost like saying that I planned to go to the moon. Nevertheless, I was able to succeed in part due to the excellent mentorship environment at Queens' College, Cambridge, during my undergraduate and PhD studies (with special thanks to Prof. Julia Gog OBE). Having experienced all of this, I am committed to ensuring that our FGLI math students at MSU have all the resources that you need to succeed and achieve your goals.
For more information on the other organizers, please see their pages.