Kathrine

To start, would you mind introducing yourself and the field that you study?

Grace

So my name is Grace Wu. I just graduated high school and I am going to major in applied mathematics at UCSD, so UC San Diego. And since I just graduated high school and I'm just entering college, so I don't, obviously I'm not like, I'm not like super deep into my field yet, but basically it's a field of math where I really hope to apply the knowledge of a subject I love into the real world.

So think of it as engineering, but I would say it's more theoretical than engineering. Like engineering is like applying physics until like you build things and you design things for the real world, right? Applied math, I guess you could think of it in the same way, except it's more so like developing theory.

So if you think like machine learning, machine learning engineering, that's kind of like applied math. If you think of like algorithms behind AI, that's like applied math. So it's like along those lines and that's my field of study.

Kathrine

So thinking back, was there a specific class, teacher, project, or other experience that first sparked your interest in STEM?

Grace

So I think I actually have to give the credit to my parents, which may be a bit of a cliche answer, but my dad has been a software engineer in more of like a CS type of field for his entire life, and so obviously I took inspiration from him. My mom, on the other hand, she taught me math, like contest math, the AMC series, AMC 10, AMC 12, AIME. She taught me that for a long time.

She was really there to help me. Also when I was like skipping a lot of grades in middle school and like late elementary school, even a little bit early on in high school, I guess, she was there to help me too. So my parents have always just been very good guiding figures in my life as I like navigated STEM, and so I do have to, I think I have to give the credit to them.

I got a lot of my passion for math from them.

Kathrine

Not cliche at all, that's actually like a parent shout out I've heard so far. Anyways, can you walk me through how your interests developed during high school and led to what you are exploring in college?

Grace

So in high school, I wouldn't say there's like a huge wow moment that like suddenly sparked my interest. I think it's definitely sparked before high school. Um, I remember being in like, like right now, like the 2024, wait, it's 2026.

Right now the 2026 World Cup is happening, right? I remember it being 2018. So I was like, what, 10 years old, 12 years old, something like that.

And I would already look at the World Cup and I would start calculating like permutations of all the sports team and like, which country was most likely to win and all of that because my dad is a soccer fan. And so I was already doing that when I was much younger. So I would say my interest developed before high school, but throughout high school, like math has always, it's my best subject.

I don't like other subjects sometimes, but I always like math, history, for example. Wait, what was the second part of the question?

Kathrine

Like, how did the interest that you developed during high school lead to the major that you're hoping to explore in college?

Grace

Oh, I see. I see. So similar to why major essay, actually.

Um, I also started volunteering in at my church in high school in a lot of different aspects. Most notably, I would say I went on a mission trip to Lebanon, um, the summer before my sophomore year and before my junior year. So that was very eye opening to like the more humanitarian side of the world being like, oh, this is a world with like with problems or like with social needs, um, that we can all do our best to like meet.

Um, and so I was like, well, this math is like a very functional subject, right? It literally like makes the world around. And there's also this other side of the world.

Kathrine

That's really exciting. So, um, were there any clubs, like summer programs, internships that also mattered?

Grace

I would say the activity that mattered most was AMC. Um, my school was not a very STEM school, so we did not have like a math club or anything. Like it was, it was, it was actually one of my biggest regrets for myself.

I could have found my own, I guess. But, um, but like my school didn't have a lot of resources or opportunities pertaining to like what you want to do with math. Um, and so I most, I had to rely on a lot of like on my own things.

I did go on like many pre-college journeys, not NDLS. I did, I did, um, something more poli sci for NDLS because I did global issues. Um, but for my Harvard, I took a pre-college program at Harvard and I took a pre-college program at Johns Hopkins.

Those two were very focused on, um, they were very STEM heavy. I think those two were what confirmed my interest of what I wanted to study in college and my contest map that I did outside of school. So like AMC 10, AMC 12, and the AME, like that, that whole series, that was what has always been, like it, it helped me develop my problem solving skills very well.

And it's also been like a step in my journey of like, um, helping me like love this field a little bit more every day. Um, and there was one more thing. Oh yeah.

I did do a research project with a professor that I knew, um, where I kind of like explored, I stepped into machine learning a little bit. I basically was working with like underground carbon storage, um, that kind of thing, like predicting carbon. It's, it's, it's, it's something hard to explain like in a short amount of time, but yeah, there was a project there that I really liked.

Kathrine

So, um, what advice would you give to other students who are also at high schools that have limited STEM opportunities?

Grace

Um, I would say that when there are limiting opportunities at your school, obviously if you can create them at your school, it's good to do that. But at the same time, like not, not every school has the resources or like the people or like the administration that, um, allows you to do that very freely. I mean, I don't think I tried very hard to do that at all at my school.

Um, there's like, there's a lot of reasons to that, um, that I won't go into, but if you can't create an environment, like if you can't change your school, like it's always good to look outside of school. So like, for example, I was very blessed in the fact that I had already talked about this earlier, but I have two parents who are both STEM people. So I was able to receive a lot of help from them in terms of like my STEM journey.

But if not, you, if you don't have like that, then I guess look towards summer programs. Like I talked about my summer programs, look at, um, like research opportunities. I definitely think if you're still young, like if you're still in middle school, elementary school, um, joining like the contest math series is like very good.

So like do AMC that like genuinely and doing AMC every year really helps. It's not only like a good statistic for your college apps, but it also like helps you so much in terms of problem solving skills. Um, so you could do that too.

Kathrine

Um, so next, can you describe the most memorable project assignment or problem that you worked on?

Grace

Project assignment or problem that you worked on?

Kathrine

Like, could you go into more depth about the internship that you did with a professor?

Grace

Oh, okay. So basically it was like, I had to, it was my first, like, it was my first like ever interaction with machine learning. Basically you have like, this is, I'm going to provide the context, but it's basically like you store carbon underground and the carbon will spread underground.

But like your legal area, like the land you own where the carbon can spread is only so big. So when it spreads underground, like decades later, like this is like a very long-term thing. Um, it could, it becomes a legal issue.

Um, and so you're basically just using data you have, um, about carbon prediction and you have to take a small bit of the sample and that's like all your training sample. And then the rest is like your testing sample. And then using the training sample, like the before and after you have to use, like, if you know, like what a regression model is, like the least square regression line, that kind of stuff.

Um, you can produce a model that will help predict where the carbon is based on the existing data that you have. Um, there's linear regression and there's also like support vector regression, which is more complicated and, um, like more complicated than the least squares regression line. Um, and with that, you can test the model with the testing data to like ensure how accurate it is.

And once you have built a model, you will then be able to, like, it's a very good predictor of things.

Kathrine

Um, so next, can you tell me about what you do in your favorite STEM-related class?

Grace

Um, in my favorite STEM-related class, I took Calculus 3 my junior year. Um, and I think earlier on, like, the classes were not challenging enough for me to be, like, super interested, and then after BC, like, Calc BC, AP Calc BC, to Calculus 3, like, that was the big jump that made it go from, like, not challenging enough to get my interest to, like, I was, I was actually, like, holding on to do your life in that class. Um, maybe because I had, like, pretty, I had pretty demanding professors in, like, Calculus 3 and all the classes I took after that.

Um, but in Calculus 3, that was also my first time sitting in a classroom at, like, my local community college where I took it as a dual credit course, so it was a really good learning experience, learning from, like, um, college students, I guess, students who were, like, a lot more older than me, and getting to experience, like, what a college environment is like. Um, the content was definitely, like, enough to, like, keep my interest, like, really fulfilled, and, um, yeah, I mean, like, you, you know what I'm getting at? Like, it was, it was enough to, like, my, like, it was, it was more than enough to, like, capture my interest, um, and that was that, like, all of the theorems were very, like, interesting, like, triple integrals, whatever.

Kathrine

Um, did that class influence what you, um, thought you wanted to study in college?

Grace

I would say that I knew I wanted to do STEM, like, before that class, but maybe, like, being able to take that class during junior year, I think, was a milestone that made me, gave me the confidence that I could pursue math if I wanted to. I will put it at that.

Kathrine

And you mentioned that, like, that class was really the first math class that you ever struggled with, so what advice would you give to someone who is taking that class?

Grace

Um, I would say that there are a lot of online resources, um, not necessarily online resources, but, like, just make the most of, like, whatever resources you have. I would say I didn't go to office hours enough, um, like, go visit your professor as much as you can, um, like, make sure you're, like, reading the textbook, because I think in a lot of subjects, like, reading the textbook is, like, it can, it's not as crucial, but I feel like in that class it was, it was pretty important to, like, not, like, important, but it was also, it was always really helpful to, like, after lectures to go back to the textbook and look at what he talked about and have, like, everything laid out and explained concretely before you. Um, and if you have a very strict professor, I would say, because mine was definitely very strict, and he gave us very hard tests that weren't ever curved or anything, like, get to know his style of test taking, like, get to know his, like, the pace of the class, like, familiarize yourself with that early on, um, and also just have, like, a level of confidence in yourself.

I think that if you're, if you're able to take a difficult class like Calculus 3, like, you can do hard things, like, multivar, like, you should be proud of yourself for being able to sit in a multivar classroom as a high schooler.

Kathrine

Um, so I know you are only going into freshman year this year, but, um, as you have explored Applied Math, what has surprised you most about this field?

Grace

What has surprised me most? I think it's how closely related it is to other fields, because previously, um, I guess this was also before I started thinking, like, super deeply about, like, what I wanted to major in, like, before College App season, when I think Mechanical Engineering was something that I was considering, CS was something that I was considering, but when I looked at these fields, I always looked at them, like, as parts, like, as, like, individual entities, which I, I realized that, like, I mean, obviously CS and Mechanical Engineering are, like, very applicable fields too, but I guess I realized that Applied Math, like, diving deeper into Applied Math was what helped me realize that, like, like, all of these fields are, like, combined in a sense, like, they all help to run the world, they all, like, like, when you, yeah, like, like, like, they're all related to each other, like, everything's interconnected.

Kathrine

Absolutely. Um, so next, um, if you could go back, what advice would you give to your ninth grade self?

Grace

My ninth grade self? I would say that I want to think of a good one, because there's, like, no, like, super obvious. As you're learning harder and harder things to never, like, to make sure that your foundation is strong.

So when, when something is too easy, like, never skim over it because you think it's too easy, and when something is too hard, like, take the time to really drill it in your brain, because it's to make the information more easily retainable, because, I mean, it's definitely easier to, like, forget what you're doing if you just, like, cram for a test, and the subject, it's, like, a very hard subject, and then you forget it the next day.

Like, retain your information, because in the future when you're using it, it'll all be useful. Um, and yeah, I would say if I ever felt like I didn't want, like, to my ninth grade self, if you ever feel like, like, this is not something you wanted to do, you ever felt like your spark was losing, um, don't try to force it, because math is a subject where, like, you can't force your interest in it, really. Um, it should be something that you like doing before you, like, decide to commit your whole life to it, because it can be so, like, mundane at times.

Um, and yeah.

Kathrine

And finally, what is one small step a student can take right now to explore, um, your field of applied math?

Grace

I don't know why I'm stuttering. If we're talking, like, small steps, small step, then literally just go on YouTube right now and watch an organic chemistry teacher video, um, talking about a math theorem that you have never heard of, that you are very interested in. Um, I would say that will, like, because math is, math is a subject where, like, you can learn it in bits and pieces, I think, like, learning a new theory, um, especially if this is something you're interested in.

Like, sometimes I would just watch a video and I would be like, wow, this is really interesting, um, like, whether it's, like, in school or out of school and I'm just bored, like, that's always something fun that you can do. Um, if not, then I think another small step would be to start looking at, like, summer opportunities or internship opportunities that you can do. Um, just, like, start researching, like, do a Google search or anything, really, um, ask your counselors, like, hey, do you know what colleges have, like, um, a program I can attend during the summer or something like that, um, because these programs are always helpful.

Um, and lastly, I would say just stay true to, like, what you really want to do. Um, figure out what, like, what kind of major makes you feel most happy and most fulfilled. Um, don't try to force one.

If you hate, if you end up hating, like, applied math, like, don't, don't brute force your way, like, through it throughout college, like, you're gonna hate your life. Um, same with any other STEM major, really, like, just stay, because if you're going into STEM, obviously you like STEM and obviously you have a passion for it, like, because it's, like, kind of a subject where, like, nobody enters it unless they like it. So, like, just stay true to that part of yourself that wanted to go into STEM in the first place and don't, like, force yourself to do anything, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

Kathrine

Okay. Um, so that is all of my questions. Thank you so much for your time, and I really appreciated all of the experiences that you had to share.