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Valdosta State University held its (belated) 25th Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day on Thursday, April 21. Due to COVID restrictions, the last 24th SK Day was in 2019. The day was co-directed by Dr. Dense Reid and Dr. Sandy Trowell, both professors in the VSU Department of Mathematics. Drs. Reid and Trowell were excited to be allowed to continue the tradition this year.

The day began with a refreshments and door prizes. The students were welcomed by Dr. Shaun Ault, head of the VSU Department of Mathematics, and Dr. Theresa Grove, associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. The first workshop was entitled “Graph Theory and Conflict Resolution.” This workshop was led by Dr. Denise Reid. The students then participated in a mathematics contest. Dr. Sandy Trowell led the students in an exploration of STEM careers and interest inventories to determine areas of interest that each participant gravitated toward. Miss Callie Reid conducted a Mobius Strip workshop. Callie is an Applied Mathematics major at VSU. She is also a PAL mathematics tutor at the Academic Success Center at VSU. The participants were then treated to lunch at Palms Dining Hall on campus. After lunch, Dr. Arsalan Wares led a workshop entitled “Antiprisms”. Mr. Ryan Hogan shared with the participants about the many programs and opportunities at VSU. The day concluded with more door prizes and the awarding of scholarships to the top three contest winners.

Sponsors for this year’s event were the VSU Department of Mathematics, VSU College of Science and Mathematics, VSU Admissions, the VSU Foundation, Hester & Morris Orthodontist, Publix Supermarkets, The Mix-Valdosta, VSU bookstore, American Eagle, Pearson Publishing, and Cengage Publishing.

This year 64 students and 21 teachers from 13 schools attended. Students attending from Bainbridge High School were Ashariah Keaton, Saraiyah Porter, Shayla Allen, Tatyanna Jinks, Paige Overman, Nelly Perez, and Caroline Grubbs. They were accompanied by Mr. Joseph Kelly and Mrs. Amy Thomas.