Graduate Student Spotlight: Maria Cruciani
PRIME is thrilled to welcome first-year student Maria Cruciani to the mathematics education doctoral program! Maria is originally from Wisconsin, and spent most of her time in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, about an hour east of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Maria earned her undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. While there, she was a part of five research teams in mathematics education and one in applied mathematics.
Maria has been involved in music her whole life. She played the flute, sang in the
choir, and was the drum major for her high school band. A fun fact about Maria is
that she has marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade twice! She commented, “My
absolute favorite thing is to sing and make music with my two sisters.”
In her free time, Maria loves to go hiking. “I have taken many hiking and camping trips to national parks with my friends,” she remarked. She also enjoys yoga and baking. Her favorite show to watch with her sisters is the Great British Baking Show.
Maria also loves to travel, having visited almost all 50 states and several other countries. She says her family would always go on road trips when she was growing up. This past summer, her whole family ventured out to Italy for a vacation together, which she noted was very special.
During her time at PRIME, Cruciani hopes to conduct research based on her interests
in teaching and learning statistics, student-centered teaching, and inquiry-based
learning. She stated, “I would like to conduct research which measures the effects
of these interventions for undergraduate mathematics and statistics students, as well
as research that supports the development of new curricular materials for K-16 statistics
students.”
After graduating from PRIME, Maria plans to be a professor at a university. She says she is “particularly interested in working with undergraduate students and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in mathematics and statistics”, which was a focus of hers before coming to PRIME. She hopes to continue this interest in her future career. Cruciani describes, “One of my favorite events I was a part of planning and organizing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was Sonia Kovalevsky Day. This was a day to promote inclusivity in mathematics by supplying a welcoming space for girls and gender minorities to explore careers in math and STEM.” Maria hopes to continue a tradition like this within her career.
Maria says her biggest supporters are her fiancé, Ashton, and both of their families.
Maria noted with both being in graduate programs, she would not be where she is today
without their love and support.
Welcome to PRIME, Maria! We hope she has an amazing year and wish her the best of luck!
Written by
Ansley Duke
