 What we're trying to do with the Math major is provide students with a solid foundation of problem solving skills, attitudes, and habits of good problem solvers. You should know that it's going to be a lot of work and that there's going to be a lot expected of you. Wow, they should expect it's going to be quite a bit different than high school usually. We try to up the ante a little bit and try to make them become more independent learners. As a Math major, really in charge of your own learning. And if you're the type of student that can think outside the box, think about something creatively as well as analytically, I think you could be really successful as a Math major. You need to be ready to ask questions and you need to talk to professors and there's a lot of hard work. The professors here at Grand Valley in the Math department are really, really supportive. They're always willing to help you find those internships, those possibilities, those job opportunities. We're always around to help people and work with others and, you know, that's what we're here for. They want you to succeed and they're always readily available outside of class to get help. The contact that you have with the professors and so forth here are different than most large universities. They don't criticize you for mistakes or getting an answer wrong. They use that as an opportunity to teach and to actually explore Math. They're not limited to the textbook, half of them wrote their textbook. From their professors they're going to find by and large their instructors will have a genuine interest in them. Being a Math major, it's not easy. Every problem that's worth solving is going to be very, very difficult at some point. A lot of people try to do Math by themselves and Math can really be such an awesome experience if you work with others and take others' perspectives. You've really got to be tenacious about things and you can't get discouraged. A lot of the homework and assignments I've spent, oh, at least like seven hours maybe on one homework problem. Math can be very frustrating, extremely frustrating. But the moment when you find out what you are looking for in Mathematics is priceless. The Mathematics Department at Grand Valley State is a really special place. We have a heart for students. We put our students first in everything that we do. Every single professor here is single-mindedly dedicated on developing students and making sure that they are successful in their coursework and in their research and in their lives. I think what's impressed me about being a Math major here at Grand Valley is the culture of support. Grand Valley does a great job at facilitating group work in Mathematics and using other people to explore work together. Everyone here is just wonderful and we all kind of work together on stuff. I love the fact that I work with my students rather than against my students. When I first went to college I started off at a larger university and the big classrooms, it didn't fit for me so I decided to transfer to Grand Valley and I really enjoyed the interaction of a smaller environment where the professors knew who everyone was and they showed genuine care and concern for each person excelling. If you want to become a Math major you want to talk to an advisor for sure in the Math Department to start with. If you're considering a Math major it's probably because you're in a place where you feel interested in Mathematics so you should just take this time in your life while you're at the university to just indulge what you're interested in. You might never get that chance again. If you can find the challenge of Mathematics motivating, that I think is what will not only bring you through the Mathematics major but position you that after you graduate you're asking the questions and thinking about the world through a Mathematical Lens of Interpretation and I think that's when you really become marketable in terms of a career trajectory. If somebody is getting into studying Mathematics I would advise them to explore proof writing for one. People come out of high school like I said and think that it's all about computation and they really need to know that a large part of studying Math at the college level is being able to communicate ideas and being able to use logic. To make sure that you really desire to pursue it. It can be challenging but it's rewarding and it's not horrible. It's really not. I would just say go for it. You know, don't do it just because you're good at it. Do it because you really enjoy it. If you become a Math major you'll get introduced to really interesting people, really fascinating ideas, difficult problems that are a real pleasure to solve and set yourself up well for a lot of different things that you might possibly want to do, even the things that you might not even be considering right now. My advice to anyone considering a degree in Math is to jump in and make the very best of every opportunity that Grand Valley provides and stay connected with your professors and build your learning communities and dive in.