By Zack Bright

Throughout my career as an undergraduate mathematics student, I have met a lot of professors. Each one was unique in their own way, and, in addition to the classwork, taught me lessons that didn't really have anything to do with mathematics. These “life lessons” have been an important part of my education and growth as a human being. One piece of wisdom imparted upon me was particularly important in my mathematical career, and I’d like to share that wisdom and why it was so important.

In the usual progression through three terms of Calculus, Calculus II is often regarded as the most difficult of the three as it encompasses a wide range of integration techniques and the seemingly unrelated mathematical concept of infinite series. In my experience, Calculus II is one of the hardest pre-proofs courses we take as math majors. What my Calculus II professor did for our class was brave, personal, and went above and beyond her requirements as our professor. It changed my life forever.

On our first day of class my professor (Dr. M from here on) told us about her own personal difficulties and obstacles she had faced in her mathematics journey. Dr. M shared with us that she hadn’t passed every class with flying colors, that she didn’t always get the results she wanted, and that she did not get accepted the first time she applied to study for her PhD. Of course, she has overcome all of these hurdles and has achieved a level of mathematical expertise that undergraduate students like myself could describe as both inspiring and intimidating.

Dr. M shared with us that it’s okay to fall down, it’s okay to not pass a class the first time. Sometimes things don’t go exactly to plan and for a lot of people these temporary obstacles can leave us feeling defeated. By sharing her struggle, Dr. M stood in front of us as living proof that these things happen to everyone and it’s normal to face difficulties in our academic careers. She is the role model I, and I think many others, need. As students, especially STEM students, there is an invisible but very real pressure on us not to fail. I know that before that enlightening moment in Dr. M’s class, I had a belief that I could not allow myself to fail: that not passing a class was a sign of my shortcomings as a student and would be my undoing. The truth of the matter is the total opposite. Everyone struggles, especially when they take challenging classes. What matters is not giving up. Failing a class is never ideal, but it doesn’t have to derail your whole degree.

Almost every professor I have had starts the semester by telling the class about their degrees and experiences. However, unlike Dr. M, most will not share stories about how they didn’t always succeed the first time. By being honest and open about her academic journey she reassured me. That constantly looming pressure I felt as a student felt less heavy. It made me realize that one grade will not make or break me.

As mathematics majors we often get told by our families and non-math friends how smart we must be, how math is so hard that we must be geniuses. I do not believe that is true. I agree that mathematics is a challenging subject, but to succeed in studying mathematics does not take genius. The key to success is the ability to not give up in the face of a challenge, even when that challenge was unforeseen. It seems so simple, yet I think for many undergraduate students it’s not all that obvious. That’s why we have professors. They are the guides in our journey. What makes them so perfect for the job is that they have faced the same challenges that lie before us now, and they know what it takes to overcome them. Some of the most important, life-changing lessons I have learned from my professors have been only vaguely mathematical. Not every professor is going to bestow wisdom to every class they teach. That’s what made Dr. M so special to me. She made me feel like she really wanted me to succeed, as if she was giving me as much help as she possibly could. For the first time in my degree, I felt like I belonged in the class.

In fact, I would go on to not pass Calculus II that semester. It was Spring 2020, and after being told we would not be returning to campus after Easter break because of this crazy thing called Covid-19, I made some bad decisions that would ultimately lead me to fall severely behind in our now-online class. Looking back now, not passing that class was not a defining moment in my academic career. The defining moment was taking the class again the following semester and passing with flying colors. I had taken what Dr. M had shared with us to heart. I felt that if someone can face similar difficulties and become a doctor of mathematics, surely I could pass Calculus II, and I was right. Dr. M had made me feel like I belonged in Calculus II, and, through this experience I became certain that I could succeed as a student of mathematics.

I retook Calculus II with Dr. M. I could have chosen a different professor, but I knew there was no one better for me. In Dr. M’s class I finally felt like I was in the right place, and it was the first time that I felt my success deeply mattered to my professor. She, of course, started class the same way that semester. Sharing her story and inspiring a mostly new group of students to never give up.

Zack Bright is completing his B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Missouri—Kansas City. He is also minoring in Computer Science with the goal of becoming a future data analyst.