Jan. 17 — Math careers abound

Roxanne Cooke / of the Herald

At Sumner High School’s first Math Career Night, 13 professionals who use numbers on the job aimed to take the mystery out of math.

The event drew more than 100 students and parents and offered a glimpse into the way careers such as oceanography and foresting involve math on a regular basis.

“I wanted kids to know how they can possibly use math,” said Sumner High School math teacher Kim Fergus, who organized the event.

Students entering their junior and senior years often drop math classes because the subject is no longer required at that point, Fergus said. She hopes that the math event helped some of those students see why math is important for the long-term.

“There is a need for them to continue on,” Fergus said.

Math Career Night was aimed toward a variety of students and included professionals such as a machinist, project engineer, commercial electrician, airplane salesperson, forester, financial analyst, financial planner, purchase manager, oceanographer, manufacturing engineer and operations supervisor.

Megan Roach, the financial analyst, shared in her presentation that she helps research what stocks will likely be the most successful. Although she uses software for many of her calculations, understanding the math behind those equations is necessary to understand what the final numbers mean, she said.

Another professional, Kevin Redman, explained how physical oceanography requires knowledge of the metric system and math basics. Redman is the father of two sons, one of whom is a current Sumner High student.

Redman’s job entails measuring properties of water, such as water direction. The math comes in when Redman compiles the data into charts and diagrams that clients can easily understand, he said.

“It takes a good math background...to put these displays together,” Redman said.

But his job definitely isn’t dull, he said. It involves a lot of field work.

“You do get to do fun things,” he said. “It’s not all at a desk.”

Both Redman and Roach agreed that many students seemed really interested in what they had to say. Freshman Katrina Carter was one of the interested ones — she’s aiming for a math-related career.

“I really do like math,” Carter said. “It’s like a puzzle.”

Carter said she learned most of the careers don’t require a high level of math, but many demand at least the basics. She felt it gave her a more specific idea of what classes to take.

Becky Ford and Joyce Harden, also freshmen, both said the career sessions helped them realize how important math can be — and that having math skills offers more career opportunities in their futures.

“I didn’t think we’d ever use (math),” Ford said.

Based on student interest, Fergus said she plans to continue the event yearly.