2019 Senior Stories
Two students took Math 412 Connections Seminar in Spring 2019. Here are their short personal stories.
Rae Ann Miller
![](https://www.goshen.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Rae-Ann-Miller.jpg)
I am majoring in mathematics, getting licensed in mathematics secondary education (5-12), and a bible, religion, and philosophy education certificate from Goshen College. Throughout college, I have enjoyed getting to participate in many extracurricular activities such as: Voices of the Earth choir, intramurals, softball, Goshen Monologues, and Unity. I have also been able to grow my leadership skills through being a resident assistant, working on the Campus Activities Council, and being a teachers assistant. Because Goshen College is a liberal arts school, I have been able to explore other passions I have while studying mathematics. While at Goshen College, I have discovered that I have a deep passion for studying religion and the Christian faith. I have been able to use my free electives to take a course called Congregational Ministries, where I was given the opportunity to give a sermon at my local church, and the opportunity to take a class at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. I also participated in Goshen College’s Study-Service Term where I spent three months in Peru. In Peru, I was placed with two different host families where both of my fathers were pastors in Peruvian churches. I loved learning about and experiencing the similarities and differences between the Mennonite churchs that I grew up in and the Christian churches I was welcomed into in Peru. For my SST culminating paper, I was able to study how different environments can affect our faith perspectives. As I graduate college, my plan is to become a math teacher at a local scchool. I plan to empower the next generation though a crucial understanding of mathematics and the knowledge that the world and mathematical concepts are much bigger than just what they see inside the walls of their school.
Colleen Weldy
![](https://www.goshen.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Colleen-Weldy.jpg)
In the ten years from third grade to my senior year of high school, I always enjoyed my mathematics courses, and I would always take the highest classes each of my schools had to offer. When I graduated high school, however, I was unsure about what I wanted to do as a career, nor did I know where to attend college.
In the end I decided to attend Goshen College for a few different reasons. The first reason was that I am a Mennonite; I liked that I would be surrounded by other students who share my faith and values. I soon came to find that GC was not just for Mennonite students, but rather for a more diverse population, thus letting me participate in many conversations that challenged and helped me to grow. Another reason I chose GC was the fact that it was close to my home. I had to be able to pay for my own schooling, so I needed a school that was both close to home, so that I could commute to/from school, and I also needed a school that would be affordable for me with working part-time at a local drug store. Upon applying and seeing what types of aid I could get from the school, GC was obviously going to be my best option. I began as a chemistry major at GC, then switched to a mathematics education major after my sophomore year.
However, as a commuter student, I was not expecting to have the typical “college experience” many of my other childhood friends would experience. I wouldn’t have the freedom many young adults experience, nor would I as easily feel the sense of independence most experience during college. Mostly, I was not expecting to make those life-long bonds many students create as they go through living close to one another. Today, as a sixth-year senior, I am happy to report that I was wrong on the latter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the commuter students created their own community within the college, where we could share a space, stories, and experiences with one another. Some of the closest friends I have today came from being in the Commuter Lounge, a space where commuter students can go to relax, do homework, or meet other commuter students before/between/after classes.
During what I had thought was going to be my final year at GC, my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma and passed away four months later in February. In that time Goshen College was more than accommodating with helping me finish my degree. While this year I did begin my career as a math teacher at Goshen Middle School (as a long term substitute for now), GC has been extremely helpful in working with me to finish my credits in the coming year. Now that my time at GC is closing, I look forward to officially becoming a math teacher at Goshen Middle School. After that, I cannot wait to see what lies ahead.