For the 29th year, Schoolcraft will honor its top math students with its most coveted prize. The Pythagorean Prize is one of the college’s highest honors to receive, highlighting students for their extraordinary mathematical achievement. Winning this competitive prize can be a significant recognition for individuals’ hard work and personal triumph. This year’s 29th Annual Pythagorean Theorem Prize awards ceremony takes place on April 17, 2024 from 2:30-4:00 p.m. in the Vistatech Center. 

In order to qualify, students must meet a highly selective criteria and show unique extracurricular background towards the subject matter in math-related fields. Those who are selected gain a myriad of new opportunities, with not only receiving monetary rewards but also positive networking connections along with social affirmation.

Current Mathematics Professor and former Pythagorean Prize winner himself, Larry Chorazewski, kindly commented on how this scholarship came about. 

“The [Pythagorean Theorem] Prize is a highly celebrated and supported one. Not only are those within the Schoolcraft Mathematics department involved in supporting and sustaining the Prize, but many other departments around campus, as well as within the community at-large, have been generously supporting it as well,” said Chorazewski.

Dating back to 1995, the prize was awarded for the very first time by Larry Williams, a previous Mathematics Professor at Schoolcraft. Originally, the award was created to acknowledge the top three performing mathematics students of the academic year, celebrating their accomplishments and providing monetary compensation. 

Student winners this year are able to receive up to $3000 in scholarship money, a total of $1000 for third place winners, $1500 for second place, and $3000 for the first place winner. Students were encouraged to not only meet basic criteria for the prize but to also include any clubs related to the subject and required to attach a personal essay about the role mathematics has played in their life. 

It is true that this prize indeed has an impact, being something recipients remember as an important accomplishment in their lives. Schoolcraft College takes pride in their student winners and the positive effect it has on their futures. Visitthe Pythagorean Prize information page at https://www.schoolcraft.edu/sclanding/pythagorean-prize/ or stop by the mathematics’ department’s display case in the Biotechnology Center and see all of the past recipients.