Service to the Community

Over the past few years, Dr. Bach Nguyen has been organizing the Department's Math Fair. Every spring, students from around the New Orleans area are invited to the Xavier campus to partake in a day of math activities. There are single math competitions, group math competitions, seminars or learning workshops, math presentations, and an award ceremony. Since 2022, I have volunteered to proctor the single math competitions by ensuring that students from the middle school group are adhering to the rules of competitive integrity. In 2026, Dr. Diego Rubiano and I coordinated a workshop on fractals, where we scheduled time at the computer lab for students to have a basic exploration of coding and fractals.  It is with this initiative that we continue to provide the community with a sense of outreach for young adults to continue exploration in mathematics. I hope to continue participating in many more department initiatives, such as the XULA Math Circle, set forth by Dr. Nguyen and the late Dr. Valerio De Angelis, where middle and high school students from around the New Orleans Area meet weekly with XULA faculty to explore advanced mathematical ideas beyond the school curriculum.

Outside of the department, I volunteer my time with STEM NOLA. Their mission is to expose, engage, and inspire future innovators, creators, makers, and entrepreneurs through STEM-based activities. 

Back in December 2025, STEM NOLA hosted the NOLA Bowl STEM Fest. K-12 students were invited from around the New Orleans area to participate in a day of activities that centered around STEM. I volunteered at their Coding table, helping young children understand the principles of coding with mechanical blocks that light up, rotate, or move. It is truly a wonderful experience to help the youth develop new skills with hands-on learning activities and to see them be interested in science through the dedication of the community. 

STEM NOLA hosts various events throughout the year, and I hope to continue volunteering and participating in their amazing initiative to further their mission to engage and inspire young scientists.