Well Said

When Katrina Morgan explains to people that she studies math as a doctoral candidate in the College of Arts & Sciences, they often respond unfavorably, saying they just “aren’t a math person.” “You wouldn’t just say, "Oh, I’m not a history person,’” Morgan said. She argues that mathematics is a field where people decide whether they “are” or “are not” fit for the field very early in their academic careers. This is especially true for girls because there is less representation of women in mathematics, Morgan explained. In 2016, Morgan, along with fellow doctoral student Francesca Bernardi, set out to change that by founding Girls Talk Math, which invites high school girls from North Carolina to UNC-Chapel Hill to participate in a two-week day camp that explores mathematical concepts. The campers are given problem sets to solve as groups, with topics that span from quantum mechanics to computer engineering. But the camp also teaches the importance of communication skills. Aside from working on math problems