Claremont-Math Village Project

"Many educational institutions preach intercultural cooperation, collaboration, and pursuing the joy of learning, but few can deliver. However, in the Village, we are taught quickly to care for the space we inhabit, the natural environment, and one another. From chores to the classroom, everyone is expected to contribute. And they do. Not out of fear of getting in trouble, but because the culture of the Village encourages collectivism. We are taught not just the math, but to lean on each other. [....]. For the first time, I was learning to engage with math as a means of solving problems, not getting a grade. This shift in mentality has already changed the way I interact with my education at Pitzer, and assisted me in the creation of a new dream: to pursue a career as a professor." A.H.

"I entered the village with a rigid idea of what high level math looked like, what scholarship entailed, and what a mathematician was. There’s this quip that lots of math students like to repeat, that mathematicians are a function that converts coffee into theorems. Nesin Matematik Köyü is a demonstration of everything that that definition fails to capture: community, humanity, curiosity, persistence, resilience, hard work, and clever thought. I have studied math my whole life as a theorem-studying-machine, an identity which I no longer associate with that of a mathematician. I would have struggled, prior to this experience, to create a solid argument that humanity and community are integral to math." S.S.

"This experience has helped me realize what I value in a learning environment, but also what I value in my personal life. The level of immersion I experienced in the Village could not be achieved from traveling to another country for the same period of time. I hope this program will continue for years to come, as it is such an enriching experience that I know I will look back on as one of the highlights of my undergraduate years." L.G.

"I learned that math is a shared language that has given me the opportunity to learn from and hold community with people who live across the world. I was able to sit in the same classrooms, understand the same lectures, and have lively discussions about math with my peers. I also saw the ways that my classmates at the village continued to pursue math, encountering obstacles that might have deterred them from the field. This shared joy for math in the math village has reinvigorated my interest in math, helping me find beauty in a subject that I have gotten so accustomed to." G.Z.

"The classes reminded me of something out of the Classical era; the open-air classroom was covered in foliage and crawling with cats. [...] The atmosphere also stripped away any of my stress or insecurities surrounding math, and instead offered an inviting and approachable environment for problem-solving that has stuck with me upon my return to Pitzer. Not only was the entire experience impactful for my mentality around math, but also in my success." C.H.

"The lectures were challenging, yet intriguing. Without exams or homework assignments, I found myself simply curious. However, the biggest learning experiences happened in Professor Bahar's class. Seeing the same material, as well as answering the questions of our classmates, gave me greater confidence in my own abilities. I was not thinking about passing a test, but instead simply learning for the sake of learning. It dawned on me in lecture; my relationship with mathematics never has to end. There is no mountain to conquer-there never was. The village pushed me to not shy away from experiences with mathematics at Pitzer and beyond." C.R.