Filling the void: Math Center offers weekly programs to support students in need

The UHCL Math Center can be difficult to find. Nestled into the back corner of the second floor of Bayou Building, it’s easy to miss if you are not actively looking for it. The lights of the office are kept dim, making the space look closed at first glance through the glass door.

Some might get the impression that the Math Center doesn’t want to be found. But, one step into the space and the enthusiastic greetings of the tutors puts the space into an entirely different perspective: from withdrawn and hidden to open and friendly like they switched the lights on.

Keegan Larrman, math major and Math Center tutor, said his favorite thing about working in the Math Center was “meeting new people.”

This attitude seemed to be the default amongst the excitable tutors. Friendly and open, they all wanted to make visitors to the office as comfortable as possible, despite the sometimes daunting nature of the subjects they are asking questions about.

Josh Barrera, a physics graduate student who has been tutoring in the Math Center for four semesters, knows first-hand how intimidating math can be for non-STEM majors.

“If they’re not into it, it’s going to be difficult,” Barrera said.

But, that’s why the Math Center is there, he added.

“We offer many different tools,” Barrera said. “Drop-in tutoring is our main draw, but there’s also one-on-one tutoring and supplemental instruction. We also have materials, books, calculators and other things you can use while in the center.”

Ralph Alvaro, statistics graduate student and self-proclaimed “professional statistics tutor,” puts a lot of effort into making sure non-STEM majors, and anyone else who comes by the center, are comfortable coming to the Math Center for help.

“I’ve been there,” Alvaro said. “I’ve been where you are, I’ve been in your struggle. I’m not a stuffy professor, I’m not going to judge. I’m here to help.”

One way the Math Center and its director, Allen Cox, are hoping to encourage more students to venture into the Math Center is through the STEMester program. STEMester is a semester-long series of events all focused on a rotating monthly STEM theme. Each month, the program explores a different field of STEM with faculty and career talks, coffee hours, movie nights and other activities. Cox began the program fall 2017 and has refined it to better fit the needs of those attending since then.

“The whole goal of STEMester is to get people into the Math Center and not cry,” Cox said. “Do something fun.”

Cheyenne Valdez, physics major, doesn’t get to attend the events as much as she would like, but loves to spread the word about them to students who would benefit.

“They usually have free food, so that’s great,” Valdez said. “You can go and get knowledge on any topic. You get to engage closely with both peers and faculty in a casual way. It’s a very relaxed environment, it’s not too advanced.”

Even though STEMester is hosted by the Math Center, Cox emphasized that it’s about more than just math.

“It’s not about math at all,” Cox said. “We have movies, popcorn. We try to create a casual environment, make the program accessible.”

Cox said accessibility is the main driving factor. He has a special passion for helping first-generation college students and has made them the focus of the first Friday every month.

“There used to be a program in [Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] that focused on first-gen students, but the person who ran it is gone,” Cox said. “Since then, there was nothing else focusing on first-gen students, but they make up about 35 percent of the population seeking tutoring.”

While the need can be demonstrated by the numbers, alone, Cox admitted that his passion for helping first-generation college students comes from a place closer to his heart.

“I am in a relationship with a woman who was a first-gen student,” Cox said. “She had a lot of problems with school, but wasn’t receiving a lot of guidance. There was just something that seemed to be missing.”

Cox said the number of students attending STEMester is low and that is something that he struggles to change. Valdez feels that the program suffers because non-STEM majors might not think they have anything to learn from the events.

“People will say, ‘That’s not relevant to me. Why should we care about that,’” Valdez said. “This type of attitude harms your growth as a person. I went to a conversation hosted at SSCB about being Muslim. I’m not Muslim, but I still found the conversation to be very valuable.”

But, Valdez explained, that passion for personal growth can’t be forced.

“The desire to learn new things that aren’t immediately relevant to you has to come from within,” Valdez said. “You have to develop a sense of value for it.”

Valdez would love to see more students, not just STEM majors, regularly attending the events.

“It’s a really good program,” Valdez said. “It needs more exposure.”

Regardless of attendance, Cox intends to continue providing STEMester and other opportunities for special-interest groups on campus. Cox explained that while UHCL does a lot to create programs to support the special populations on campus, he feels that they could be doing more and hopes that STEMester can help to fill a little of that void.

“We provide a different experience,” Cox said. “UHCL has a lot of different systems that promise support for different groups. I just think they need to follow through on those promises.”