William Bonney

September 4, 2014
Mrs. Walker
College 1
Jam Reflection
During my time spent at Math Jam, I grew immensely from my first humbling encounters
with college. Throughout the Jam I was harrowed by daunting challenges in any
mathematical matter conceivable, and they tested the deep reserves of my academic
gumption. This was more evident then ever, when on a project assigned I was taught a
lesson on a prodigious level of importance. One of the other students I was collaborating
with for the project thought his method for solving the problem was correct and I ardently
thought that my process was superior, so we found ourselves at an impasse. So naturally in
order to solve this conundrum we took both our ideas to the tutor assigned to us, only to
discover that both of our methods were flawed and would lead to an incorrect answer. Much
to the dismay of both my peer and myself we had learned a profitable lesson in humility and
not to be so stubborn in my resolve and reluctance to accept the help of others. Following
this very necessary occurrence my outlook on college had been highly altered, rather than
thinking I could get by on my old high school mannerisms, I was enlightened and grieved by
the fact that college would be a completely different beast.
The most influential people I met during Math Jam were my tutors Santos and George.
Throughout the week they not only taught me more and more about math and its little gems of
intricacy, but more importantly helped me grow in maturity and helped me become more
accustomed to the college lifestyle. During one of my many memorable conversations with them,

they imparted to me the importance of discipline and hard work. As the week progressed I heard
more and more about the TLC and only on the last day did I learn that it was an opportunistic
tutoring center available to all the people in Pathways. After this revelation I thought this would
be a great place to go if ever I were to encounter adversity throughout the semester and need
assistance with my homework. I believe this will prove to be an invaluable asset for me as my
challenges increase in difficulty and can be a place for me to fall back on if I ever need support.
One of the most inspirational people I met during Math Jam was Dr. D, and while we
were only barely acquainted the words she left me with will forever be ingrained in my memory.
Through her anecdote about her ambitions of becoming a math teacher she taught me that
perseverance and dedication are the key to accomplishing anything that you perceive as
important in life. This is the most valuable lesson I could possibly ever have taken away from my
week spent at Math Jam and it is the reason I selected the video artifact that I did because it is in
those brief moments that she imparts sage like wisdom.