The challenge to excel is what students Nicholaas Yamine, Luis Xhemollari and Madison Grieb have achieved this past year. All three were awarded this year’s Pythagorean Prize carrying on a twenty-nine year tradition of honoring the hard working mathematics students on campus.
The prize has long served students through its generous scholarships and connections for those in the STEM field. However, this prize has more significant meaning to students than just earning scholarship money and a fancy piece of paper.
By earning this prize, they receive a representation and recognition of their hard work, as well as an opportunity to showcase it. This prize can affirm for these students that they have so much to be proud of, along with so much potential to look forward to in their futures.
First Place: Nicholas Yamine
Nicholas Yamine, a computer engineering major, has waited a long time to apply for this prize. Yamine first discovered it, like many others, through his Calc 3 math class with Professor Mingela. During his time here, Yamine has been extremely dedicated to his mathematics studies. So, once he heard about this chance, he kept it in the back of his mind.
“Since I started college, I decided to really hunker down and get serious about my education. Winning this prize shows to me that my hard work has paid off. It only encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing and continue to strive for more. This will definitely be the highlight of my time at Schoolcraft,” said Yamine.
And serious he has been. “I’ve taken the entire calculus sequence as well as Linear Algebra, and am currently taking Differential Equations,” said Yamine. He attributes his success in part to his passion for mathematics as well as his supportive teachers and effective study strategies.
Second Place: Luis Xemollari
Xemollari is an engineering major and when he first discovered he won second place, he was initially surprised. Soon after though, that surprise was replaced by excitement and happiness about winning.
“It feels like a great achievement and a way to recognize the dedicated work that I have put in throughout the past semesters here at Schoolcraft,” said Xemollari.
After the work is done here, he plans on transferring to the University of Michigan to study a double major of mathematics and computer science. He hopes this opportunity will help him continue to grow. “It feels like a way to reinforce my belief that I am on the right track towards achieving my goals.”
Third Place: Madison Grieb
Grieb returned to school after pursuing and finishing a B.A. in biochemistry from Albion college. In the future, she hopes the classes she is taking at Schoolcraft will lead her towards a masters degree in biostatistics in the fall.
“Winning the prize has helped reassure me that I am on the right path. At first, I wasn’t sure if I could pursue a career in biostatistics, but my time at Schoolcraft has helped me feel worthy and prepared me,” said Grieb.
In addition, she believes it will aid her as an important memory throughout her career journey. Her hard work has led her to this moment, and she recognizes Professor Andrea Mayes for her supportive encouragement.
Grieb’s advice for current math students is the following: “I have taken various math courses in the past, such as Statistics and Calculus 1. A strong math foundation and understanding of the basics has helped me enormously in more challenging courses. Everything builds off of basic math concepts, so paying close attention in earlier classes [has] set me up to be successful later on,” said Grieb.
This year’s math students couldn’t be more deserving of this prize. They were celebrated on April 17th during the official Pythagorean Prize presentation and reception where all were welcome to attend.
