Royce Tolarte made Student Profile headlines in April. A first-year Ph.D. student at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara, Royce’s research interests are in math education, cognitive science, equity, and professional development in higher education.
Royce earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 2017 from La Sierra University, which has been ranked as the most diverse university in the western United States by U.S. News & World Report. In 2018, Royce received his master’s degree in mathematics for teachers from Portland State University. Prior to attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, he was an adjunct mathematics professor, teaching courses in pre-calculus, calculus, and data science.
Below are excerpts from his interview with the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“When I started my undergraduate studies, I was not actually pursuing a mathematics degree! I was a Piano-Performance/Pre-Medicine major; however, I was taking math courses for fun! I had taken AP Calculus in high school and just really loved math, so I continued taking math courses in undergrad. When I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in mathematics education at the start of my junior year, I officially switched majors.
“The best advice that a professor has given me was to protect my resources (e.g., time, energy, etc.). I received this advice as an undergrad, but it became more relevant to me during my graduate studies. Boundaries are extremely difficult to establish, and for me, it was something I never considered to make in academic contexts.
“In 10 years, I hope to still be in a university setting. I would love to be in a position that bridges mathematics and education departments, engaged in undergraduate mathematics education research, and hopefully advising graduate students pursuing mathematics education research as well! I also hope that I’ll still be playing volleyball and still pursuing music/theater for fun!”
Click here to read the full interview.
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