2023 PRIME Graduates
Congratulations to the Spring and Summer 2023 graduating mathematics education doctoral
and master’s degree students! The Program in Mathematics Education graduates are Sarah Castle, Jonathan “Jon” Gregg, Jihye Hwang, Chloe Lewis, and Sunyoung Park.
Also graduating is PRIME’s student worker, Elizabeth “Liz” Havey.
Here is a little more about our upcoming 2023 graduates:
Sarah Castle
Sarah began her journey at PRIME in the Fall of 2018. Sarah’s work is twofold. First, she uses computation as an environment for students to engage in mathematical creativity and provide new opportunities for previously marginalized students while also investigating the affordances and constraints of using computing as a mathematical pedagogy. Secondly, it centers on using computation to uncover manifestations of inequity within undergraduate STEM contexts and working to advance critical investigations of structural systemic inequities.
It was hard for Sarah to choose just one of her most fond memories while being at
MSU. A few of her favorite memories included MSU football and hockey games, mini golf
with the PriME community, Lansing Lugnut games, the meals shared with friends, and
many escape rooms with the Shivites.
As Sarah prepares to graduate, she shared some advice for current students. She said, “I would recommend reaching out to other graduate students and professors both in and out of PriME. I have grown a lot both as an individual and an academic because of this. I am still so grateful to be a part of the Computational Education Research Lab (CERL) in CMSE! I have traveled to Norway and to conferences with them, and they have become a huge support for myself and my husband during my time at MSU.”
Sarah is defending her dissertation on May 25th. After Sarah graduates, she will be an assistant professor of mathematics education in the Mathematics Department at the University of Idaho.
Jonathan “Jon” Gregg
Jon also started at PRIME in the Fall 2018. His research interests are in elementary education, and particularly how elementary teachers prepare themselves to break out of their established approaches to the classroom, and how they might anticipate incidents ahead of time in their class preparation.
Jon is currently teaching at Hillsdale College, and will be in a tenure-stream assistant professor position there once he receives his PhD. He is defending his dissertation on May 30th.
Jihye Hwang
Jihye joined PRIME officially in the Fall of 2019. Her research interests are focused on students’ learning in the context of proof and reasoning in undergraduate mathematics. Her current research interest is focused on post-secondary multilingual international students’ lived experiences throughout their lives.
Jihye’s favorite memory while at MSU included hanging out with the friends she made in PRIME. She said, “I met good friends and a good community, including Shivites, in PRIME. Chatting with them, taking a walk with them, or having a party with them in their important moments such as graduation, passing comps… I appreciated many events, but as an international student, I appreciated when my friends included me during the holidays, such as Thanksgiving or Easter. I remember Chuck’s Friendsgiving, Sarah’s Easter meal delivery during the COVID, and Shiv’s invitations.”
When asked about advice to offer, Jihye was unsure if she was qualified, although
she decided to leave current students with a few words of wisdom. She shared, “I think
our program has many resources and opportunities, such as many fellowships, teaching
opportunities, research opportunities, and networking, so I hope PRIME students use
them and are benefitted from those. Also, we have great people, including Lisa, Freda,
and Kelly. Ask them if you have any questions.”
Jihye defended her dissertation in May and graduated in Spring 2023. After graduation Jihye will be working as a postdoctoral research scholar at Arizona State University.
Chloe Lewis
Chloe is finishing a PhD in Mathematics in the Mathematics Department here at MSU, and also completing a master’s degree in mathematics education at the same time. Chloe studies algebraic topology in mathematics, and her mathematical research interest is in equivariant homotopy theory. Quantitative literacy is her mathematics education interest.
She is graduating with her PhD and MS degrees this summer, and has accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Mathematics Department at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
Sunyoung Park
Sunyoung started at PRIME in the Fall of 2018. The research that she is interested
in focuses on investigating teachers’ beliefs and roles in the classroom in order
to foster students mathematical understanding. Her hopes are to devise mathematics
teacher training programs for practicing and prospective teachers.
Sunyoung is defending her dissertation on July 21st. Her plans post-degree are to work as a postdoctoral research scholar at the Connected Mathematics Project at MSU.
Liz Havey
Liz has been a student worker in the PRIME office for two years. She helped with office records, events, the move from Kedzie to Wells Hall, writing articles and posting events for the website, and just about anything and everything else.
She is a Communications major, and will be interning in Auburn Hills, MI this summer. We thank her for all of her work with PRIME and wish her the best in her future endeavors!
Congratulations to our graduates and their families! We wish them the best in their future endeavors! Please stay in touch with us. More photos appear below.
Written by
Liz Havey
