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Picture with pokemons Pikachu and Snorlax

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A memorable experience from my K-12 math education occurred during high school. Our math teacher, Mr. Flores, stood out not only as an excellent math teacher but also as a genuinely kind person. My enjoyment in learning math was greatly enhanced by his teaching, primarily because he showed genuine care and concern for us as students.

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Painting with my old roommate, Anna, who visited me over break:)

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A memorable experience from K-12 math education was my algebra teacher Miss Frey. She did not believe in written exams for math education so instead we did hands-on-activities to show our understanding of the material. Her understanding and compassion is a huge reason why I am becoming a teacher.

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I went into the desert by my house and took pictures with my friends.

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A memorable experience from K-12 math was when I was struggling in 6th grade and my teacher would take an hour every day to re-teach me the lessons from class so I could catch up. We stayed in her classroom from 3-4pm every day and she's the only reason I've excelled as much as I have.

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I skied everyday at Mammoth and Palisade over winter break :)

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I remember during my senior year of high school I took 4 math classes because I only needed one English class to graduate. One of those math courses was Multivariable Calculus. My teacher gave us a take home exam as our final and it was one question, and we could work as a group, but it took multiple pages to answer it because it combined every thing we had learned that semester into one very tedious question.

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A memorable experience I had from K-12 math education was during 4th grade when we were learning how to multiply numbers with two or more digits. At first, our teacher was trying to show us the lattice method, which I did not understand. When I asked my teacher, Ms. Metcalf, if there was a different way to multiply these numbers, she worked with me to find another way that I could multiply numbers. We found that breaking down the numbers into their place values helped a lot. I think my teacher's patience and understanding helped me excel in math and paved the way for my math education today.

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I had to be back a week early for hockey games and got to meet some female youth players from Steamboat!

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My most memorable experience from K-12 was my freshman year biology teacher. I had never been interested in science or considered myself capable of learning it at a high level. However, my mindset quickly changed when I had a teacher who inspired me and challenged me. I soon found myself eating lunch with the teacher because I was eager to learn more. I received my highest percentage grade ever in that class because of its effect on drawing in my engagement. My experiences in that class inspired me to pursue a career in education. I hope to be able to inspire and influence the future generations.

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I have a tradition of gifting my niece and nephews annoying gifts for their parents to deal with.

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A memorable experience that I have though about lately is from 5th grade. My math teacher, Mr. Lugo, had a talk with me during recess. He talked to me about my behavior and his high expectations of me in school. He told that I was smart but not living up to my potential. I remember this day because this was the first time someone held me to a higher standard. I still credit him for my educational journey to become a math teacher.

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I went to Disney World with my family! (I am the one at the top right). 

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During most of my K-12 education, I did not like math at all. I wanted to study something that did not have any math because I really struggled with angles and long division. All of my friends would get A's while I got C's in fourth grade and that made me think math was the worst thing and definitely not for me. In 7th grade, we had a new math teacher; and the first thing he said when he went into the classroom was "I am going to make all of you stop hating math, I am going to show you how fun it can be". And so he did. He made me and my classmates love algebra and calculus, and remained our professor until 12th grade. Thanks to him and his way of teaching, I love math and am now a junior in Aerospace Engineering! I would love to be like him and be able to change people's mind about math.

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I went to see the last sunrise of the year with my friends :)

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My most memorable experience from K-12 math was during high school when we were given the opportunity to design a statistical experiment and present out findings to the class. My group mates and I decided to test if there was a statistical correlation between gender and preferred monopoly piece. I really enjoyed being able to connect the math I was learning to my every day life, and it has pushed me to find more connections within the content I learn. I also felt as though our teacher actually supported us and our learning, rather than just trying to make us memorize formulas/material.

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Turned Christmas dinner into a surprise graduation for my Mom. 

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I do not have many standout memories of my K-12 mathematics education, but I do have a memory from my Teacher Certification Program. I was taking a teaching K-8 math course and my Professor explained multiplying fractions in a way to where, for the first time, I could actually conceptualize what was happening. I never struggled with math in school and always found a lot of joy in math, but this experience gave me a new curiosity and perspective on math that I'd not previously had.

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Making some cookies on Christmas eve with my family (Though it's just me in the pic)

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I remember the math multiplication/division sheets that my teacher would hand out in like 3-5 grade. Doing these sheets was memorable for me because of the math and the seemingly competitive atmosphere when we did them. I remember flying through those sheets just to see if I could beat my friends. I think this is why I like doing math (especially simple math) because I still see some problems as a speed test and game.

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I got engaged over winter break! A memorable experience I had from K-12 math was how fun my second grade teacher made math and especially fractions. She made this whole choose your own adventure storyline that was Wizard of Oz themed with math problems and that really started my love for math.

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I love skiing and have been going a lot over break! I love to go with my roommates and friends.

I used to love math in primary school and really enjoyed being able to excel in the subject when I was not doing as well in other subjects.

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A photo of Mount Rainier I took on my flight back to the US at the end of break :)

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One of my favorite math teachers growing up was my 8th grade pre-algebra teacher, Ms. Summar. I loved her teaching style because when it came to introducing a new unit, instead of the typical introductory set up then algorithm explanation I was used to, she gamified it by having us come up with our own algorithms first. I remember thinking, even back then, how rewarding it was to come up with an idea that was close, maybe missing a piece, and figuring it out. To this day, she represents the kind of educator I want to be.

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I finally got wordle in one after using this word for 2 years! Kinda sad having to pick a new word though.

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A memorable experience I have in math is taking IB Mathematics in high school. I had an amazing teacher who taught the material in a way that made me go from hating math to now it being my college major! I think it is super important to have a good teacher when taking hard math classes and without him I most likely would have failed my IB exam. During the class as well, I was able to incorporate one of my passions at the time, basketball, into my internal assessment which made me fall in love with math even more! This is what has inspired me to be a teacher for the same program!

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A memorable experience from my K-12 math was when we learned how to do long division in 5th grade. I remember being so excited that I picked up on the topic fairly quickly and my classmates and I would use those giant sticky notes to make absurdly long problems. The photo I shared from break is a sweatshirt I made.

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This is my dog, Pookie, supporting the Broncos (before they lost)

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I do not look back on K-12 math fondly. It wasn't until I started college that I started feeling more confident with math and in my own competency. A memorable experience I have from K-12 math was my 8th grade math teacher telling me that I should re-take algebra 1 in high school, ad that I had not demonstrated comprehension. After working so hard and doing tutoring, this made me feel really defeated. That's both a large reason behind me taking this course and also why I am so nervous about my success in it.

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I visited Telluride with my boyfriend over winter break!

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My most memorable experience from K-12 math would have to be completing timed multiplication sheets in 3rd grade! I remember practicing them over and over again at home to prepare for when we did them in class. I also remember it being a stressful experience for me, because I cared a lot about doing well in school and hated being rushed/timed.

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This winter break, I visited my family in California, and we went to Sequoia National Park to celebrate New Years Eve. Here is my little sister and I on a rock during a hike at Sequoia National Park.

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Hello! My name is Polina, but I go by Polly.

A memorable experience I have from K-12 math was during my senior year AP Calculus II class: I used to be a notorious class skipper, and was on behavioral probation for it despite my high grades and GPA, and on the last day of class, my AP calc teacher gave me a handmade certificate that read “(not so) perfect attendance award presented to Polina Sultanov.” It was a funny bit and we laughed about it, but after a heartfelt conversation with him, I realized that there’s more to being a good student than just my grades. I haven’t skipped a class on purpose since then.

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A memorable experience I had in math was during middle school when I had the chance to take high school math course both algebra and geometry. The reason this is memorable because I was glad that my school had advanced classes that were there for those that might need it. I enjoyed taking both of those classes. My teacher was so understanding in explaining any topic that we might not have understood. Finally, I added a picture I took of my dog before her grooming appointment were she had a bit of crazy hair.

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My boyfriend and I at one of my favorite shops back home trying on silly hats. He came to visit me over break! :)

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A memorable experience from K-12 math is my mom being so willing to help me find tutors/ other ways to help me with math. I really struggled with the subject, and I think her determination to get me the tutoring I needed helped me tremendously.

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My mom and I got to go to Disneyland over winter break! It was such a memorable experience! 

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In seventh grade, I failed a test for the first time. It was in my math class! As a student who typically did very well on all of my assignments and classes, I was in shock. This was very difficult for me. When I apporached the teacher, she told me I bombed the test. I did not understand the ways she was teaching me. At home, I was able to apply the help my parents gave me. When it came down to the exam, it was extremely difficult to understand my thought process, especially because of the different ways to solve a problem. This was my first reflection on how learning is not linear. We all learn in different ways and even Algebra is not different!

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My family got a another puppy over winter break!

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Math was always my favorite subject as a kid, probably because it is definitive, and it was always either right or wrong, which I always liked over reading and writing. I don't have one particular outstanding math experience from K-12, but I do remember having a couple specific teachers that would give us the space to work through the math in our own ways, instead of having to do it one particular way, and I always appreciated that!

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This is from my baby sister's Winter Choir Show. I'm the oldest child and I love to support my younger siblings however I can, so this was a special moment.

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Most of my K-12 math experiences were somewhat negative. Although I wasn't bad at math, I had to work really hard to understand it. I can't recall one specific experience that felt memorable, but I felt very happy and proud of myself for understanding more difficult levels of math, especially with geometry. In college, I've worked as a STEM Mentor at a local elementary school. During that time, I had one student who really struggled to engage with the activities. One afternoon, the students created "Data Monsters", and he followed the entire activity with enthusiasm and many questions (which I'm always happy for students to ask). The program I work in is meant to strengthen student perspectives and skills on/of math as a whole, so seeing them enjoy what we teach is extremely motivating.

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This is my pup Harley over the winter break. She's 10 months now and flew home to the east coast and back with me. A memorable experience from K-12 was my eighth grade math teacher who was also the basketball coach for our high school. I was definitely not the best behaved at the time and I really appreciate her taking the time and patience to help me get my work done because I was cable of doing it.

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My friend Ava (blue jacket) and I (pink jacket) went snowboarding in Colorado over winter break! 

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My most memorable experience from K-12 math would be my senior year of high school. I pushed myself to take calculus, even though I had never been great at math, and knew it wouldn't be super involved in my future, and ended with a grade I was proud of. It took a lot more effort than I thought I would have to put into a class as a senior, but I used it to my advantage and pushed myself to not only pass but excel. I was fortunate enough to have a tutor who was terrific and patient with me. I also had a teacher who didn't give up on me or want to fail me. While I wouldn't say the literal math we were practicing was the most memorable (as I feel I remember algebra the most), I will never forget my calculus class from my senior year of high school.