Department of Mathematics Meet and Greet

October 11, 2019

The Meet and Greet details:

When: Friday, 10/11/19 @ 2:00—4:00 p.m.

Where: 232 PGH

What is the Meet and Greet?: This event is for all Undergraduate Math Majors, including Mathematical Biology, Math Graduate students, Departmental Faculty and Staff. The purpose of this social is to create a pleasant and comfortable environment among faculty and students.

We have two speakers that will present at this event (2:00—3:15 p.m.). Some topics that may be discussed include:

Which steps were taken to acquire their current positions?
What was their process like and what was involved in their preparation to find a position?
Which opportunities did they take advantage of that proved invaluable during the application process.
Perspectives on “life beyond the degree”.

SPEAKERS:

(2:00—2:35 p.m.) Dr. Kayla Bicol received her B.S. in Mathematical Biology (2013) and M.S. in Mathematics (2016) from the University of Houston. She spent her undergraduate years working in biology labs and taking biology classes as a mathematical biology major before deciding to transition to graduate school. After obtaining her bachelors degree, she enrolled into the PhD program within the department of mathematics in 2013. During her 2018 graduate career Kayla received the SIAM Student Chapter Certificate of Recognition for her service as President of the UH chapter of SIAM. Her other accomplishments include co-chairing the organizing committee for the Texas Women in Mathematics Symposium 2018 at the University of Houston, as well as completing an internship at the Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, CA via NREIP during the summer.

In 2019, Kayla successfully defended her dissertation and received the UH 2019 Women and Gender Resource Center's Distinguished Service to Women Award for a student. She believes that this was due to the collaborative efforts and support of the female faculty, staff, and students of the UH Department of Mathematics. She also served as one of the first graduate student representatives to the Department of Mathematics with a focus on increasing support for graduate student success through effective policies and training programs.

Currently Dr. Bicol holds a Postdoctoral Associate position at M.I.T. Mapping Lab & M.I.T Teaching + Learning Lab in Austin.

2:35—2:40 p.m. intermission

(2:40—3:15 p.m.) Jordan Chapel received his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Houston in 2016. His prior experience includes tutoring and counseling students in the BEAM program, as well as for CHAMP. Upon graduation, Jordan was hired as an Actuarial Business Analyst for the Houston International Insurance Group (HIIG) where he largely concentrated on financial reports and actuarial analysis using a series of data mining techniques for the company. He also collaborated with the Underwriting and Claims department regarding Reinsurance Loss Development. After HIIG, Jordan transitioned into a Lead Strategic Procurement Analyst position at Hewlett Packard Enterprise where he currently leads a complex individual supply chain sub-category, including data and industry analysis, as well as developing and utilizing supply chain, business and financial modeling tools.

Jordan will be accepting resumes and cover letters as he intends to submit them to Hewlett Packard hiring managers.

*Note: If you need to refresh your resumes, please do not forget to visit our UH Career Services. There is a Resume/CV Building Workshop scheduled on 10/02/19, from 2—3PM @Student Service Center 1, Rm 156. I highly recommend you all attend!

(3:20—3:35 p.m.) We will be recognizing our Fall 2019 Benner Scholarship, Grover Scholarship, and Mathematics Undergraduate Scholarship, as well as our other NSM Scholarships undergraduate recipients.

(3:40—4:00 p.m.) Afterward we will have a PME Induction ceremony for new members!

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Special Thanks to: Dr. Kayla Bicol, Mr. Jordan Chapel, Ms. Bennie Anderson, Ms. Gloria Boza, Dr. Nick Leger, Ms. Rachael Lee, Ms. Melisa Lopez. Addtional thanks to all participants of the event!!! :)