VSU holds 28th Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day
Published 6:28 pm Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Submitted Photo: Highland Christian School students pictured are Shelby Steel, Anna McLane, Laura York, Sophia Moates and Ella Paulk. Accompanying the students were Julie Potter and Logan Shade.
Submitted photo: Lowndes High School students pictured above are Kylie Izor, Runi Patel, Cannon Langdale, Emily Faircloth, Isabella DeFelice and Emily Kate Heirs. Accompanying the students were Amy Whitehead and Amy Herring.
Submitted photo: Valdosta Early College Academy students pictured above are Josseline Reyes-Bravo, Sarika Rahman, Alana Wilcox, Traycianna Denson, Rosselyn Peralta-Rayon and Reauna Williams. Accompanying the students was Gabrielle Sams.
Submitted photo: Valdosta High School students pictured above are Olivia Shen, Nikita Carr, Savanah Lee and London Simpson. Accompanying the students was Sharon Melone.
Valdosta State University hosted the 28th Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day Thursday, April 17.
SK Day consists of a program of hands-on workshops, career speakers and a contest. The purpose of the day is to encourage students to continue their study of mathematics. The director of the event was Denise Reid, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics.
There were 18 schools taking part in this year’s SK Day with a total of 136 participants.
This year’s program began with a welcome by VSU Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Sheri Noviello, Ph.D., while Reagan Cook served as the career speaker for the day. Reagan works as a data analyst and is an AI manufacturing fellow through Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute.
There was also a math competition during the event. The participants were treated to a light breakfast in the morning and taken to VSU’s Palm dining hall for lunch. Door prizes were drawn at the beginning and end of the day.
Three workshops were held during the day.
Patti Roberton, a lecturer in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, led a workshop entitled “Can Joy Smell Parkinson’s.” In this workshop, students participated in a real-world application of statistics and probability.
Denise Reid, Ph.D., a professor of Mathematics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, led a workshop entitled “Six Problems to Ponder.” In this workshop, the students worked as teams and used manipulatives to solve non-routine challenge problems.
The final workshop of the day was led by Sarah Glass and Lauren Taunton, two VSU seniors majoring in Applied Mathematics with Secondary Education Certification. Their workshop was entitled “The Platonic Solids” where students explored shapes and built models of each to take back to their schools.
Sponsors for the day included VSU College of Science and Mathematics, VSU Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics, VSU Provost Office, VSU Admissions Office, VSU Auxiliary Services, Publix, Texas Instruments, Hawkes Learning, Wild Adventures, Wiley Publishing and Cengage.
