Our Alumni
Graduates of the Mathematics Department are helping to build its reputation through their own accomplishments in industry and academia. The best way to learn the value of a Saint Peter’s Jesuit education is from those who have experienced it. Here’s some information about a few grads:
Matthew Goodman ’22
I attended Saint Peter’s as a Mathematics major with a Concentration in Secondary Education. The professors provided several opportunities to succeed and develop my skills as an intelligent, cohesive mathematician. Additionally, the faculty in the Caulfield School of Education provided the fundamental building blocks to become an effective education. Finally, my work-study experience in the STEM Engagement & Empowerment Center, Center for Academic Success and Engagement, and Center for Career Engagement and Experiential Learning gave me life-long friendships and professional connections that serve me well as a current Mathematics Teacher in Clifton High School in Clifton, NJ. In fact, it gave me the opportunity to work as the Math Instructor for the EOF and TRiO SSS programs. I am proud to have attended Saint Peter’s University for my Undergraduate education, and I am looking forward to using my experience gained at this institution in the modern world.
Daniel Gotshall ‘20
I graduated as the valedictorian of my class, after pursuing a double major in mathematics and chemistry. During my time there, I discovered that my true passion was in math, specifically algebra and number theory. This realization began during my very first semester in which I took the Discrete Mathematics Class, taught by my advisor and mentor Dr. Nelson. For the first time, I learned how to reason abstractly and write general proofs. This course was so fascinating to me that when Dr. Nelson asked for the members of Math Club to join her in performing research, I did not hesitate to accept. For all four years as an undergraduate student, Dr. Nelson and I worked on variations of the Fibonacci Sequence, which I am proud to say cumulated into two publications and several presentations, including one at MathFest. Additionally, Drs. Nelson and Sequin were kind enough to teach Independent Study courses in Abstract Algebra and Topology, respectively, so as to strengthen my understanding in these areas beyond what was offered in the standard math program. After graduation, I earned my MA from Villanova University. During my time there, I published another paper with a faculty member and an undergraduate student on outer planar graphs with maximum spread. For my Master’s Thesis, I worked towards an inductive proof of the Erdos-Ko-Rado Theorem for Families of Intersecting Vector Spaces and presented my progress at MathFest. Currently, I am working towards my Ph.D. at University of Rochester. I credit all my great learning experiences at Saint Peter’s University for giving me the essential background knowledge and critical research experience needed to succeed in a graduate program.
Emily Caba ’19
When I began my undergraduate degree at Saint Peter’s University, I did not intend to be a mathematics major. However, after taking Dr. Protomastro’s Calculus for the Life Sciences course during my first year, I decided to work towards a B.S. in mathematics. As a student who has interest in both mathematics and the health sciences, I was impressed with how genuinely invested the math faculty was in its students’ success. I learned that mathematics is the foundation of everything around us and can be used in whichever industry we choose to pursue a career in. This is the ideal subject to study to develop transferable analytical, and critical thinking skills as a math student, whether you are interested in continuing graduate studies or pursuing a career in the nursing field as I am doing now. I am eager to implement these skills that I learned as a mathematics major. I would highly recommend Saint Peters University’s mathematics department to any student who has a deep interest in problem solving of any kind or who is simply looking for a program that is fun yet challenging with an amazing faculty and peers.
Madel Liquido ’19
My experience at Saint Peter’s University as a Mathematics major and Computer Science minor was nothing short of enriching and rewarding thanks to the constant support I received from the mathematics department. As a discipline, often times mathematics can be regarded as a rigorous and intimidating area of study, however, the mathematics professors at Saint Peter’s University were able to make all four years of undergraduate study equally informative and enjoyable. Even early on as a freshman, I was thoroughly impressed by the faculty’s dedication towards its students’ success. For example, Dr. Protomastro’s Multivariable Calculus classes equipped me with the strong quantitative foundation needed to succeed in higher levels of calculus as well as my current role as a quant within the investment banking industry. Separately, Dr. Nelson’s theoretical math classes such as Linear Algebra and Abstract Algebra allowed me to look beyond applied mathematics to understand the abstract concepts lying beneath the theorems we use everyday as mathematicians. Even when certain math classes were not included in the existing curriculum, Dr. Conley and Dr. Sequin arranged independent studies with me in both Numerical and Complex Analysis to supplement my mathematics education. Later, as part of my senior seminar, Dr. Hopkins’ Graph Theory course equipped me with the skills necessary to understand data structures that appear commonly in technical interviews and the workplace. Aside from the coursework, one of my favorite memories was conducting research in Mathematical Biology alongside Dr. Kintos where I was able to travel across the country and present our research at various mathematics conventions such as the National Pi Mu Epsilon conference and Joint Mathematics Meeting (opportunities which were also made possible thanks to Dr. Poiani and Dr. Hammett). All this being said, I am deeply grateful to Saint Peter’s mathematics department for providing me with the quantitative background I possess and continue to build upon today.
Prajwal Niraula ’15
I hold very fond memories of Saint Peter’s mathematics department, a place that inspired me to pursue a math major by witnessing the diverse career paths pursued by its graduates. The mathematics department equipped me with a repertoire of analytical and programming skills, skills I have greatly relied on in my career. One particular memory that stands out is from my junior year when we participated in a physics competition which required us to determine the stability of planets around binary stars. I remember applying my newly acquired numerical integration of ordinary differential equations for the competition. The wide range of courses from multivariable calculus, discrete math, symbolic programming in Mathematica to group theory provided me with frameworks to tackle different types of problems. I am deeply grateful to Saint Peter’s mathematics department for providing me with an exceptional educational background, while also educating me on what x^3 said to x^2 — that it believes in a higher power.
Sarah Heilig ’11
While I attended Saint Peter’s College, I majored in Mathematics and Computer Science because I felt that with a background in these two fields, I could pursue any career that I wanted. While working toward my math degree, I truly enjoyed learning from some very knowledgeable professors who also took the time to get to know their students. They introduced many diverse applications of math that always made seemingly normal Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Mathematical Modeling classes interesting. Throughout my four years, between learning about integrals and matrix multiplication, I learned that math could be used to predict the next winner in an election, to maximize the number of cars that get through a green light at a stoplight, and to decrypt codes.
When I was a senior, I spent most of my year doing original research with Dr. Hopkins for my senior thesis, which was on finding connections between symmetric 2X2 games in game theory. I became very familiar with situations known as Prisoner’s Dilemma and the popular game, Chicken. Being able to read books from well-known, modern mathematicians and working with someone who has several mathematical publications under his name gave me an even deeper appreciation for the field of mathematics. I also credit my professors at Saint Peter’s College with my success now. I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in mathematics at New York University. They gave me the background that I needed to continue on in my education. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Saint Peter’s College, especially working with the mathematics department.
Vincent Berardi ’03
I attended SPC from 1999 through 2003. The small class sizes afforded me an abundance of individual attention from my professors, both in the classroom and through extracurricular activities, such as Pi Mu Epsilon. I was exposed to a variety of topics such as calculus, discrete mathematics, and abstract algebra. The most influential of these was a seminar in chaos theory that I completed with Dr. Safford. That experience provided the motivation for me to receive my Masters degree in Applied Mathematics in the Non-Linear Dynamical Systems group from San Diego State University. My thesis focused on the propagation of non-linear waves through granular media. I am currently enrolled in Computational Sciences PhD program at SDSU, where I am studying mathematical models of human behavior. Saint Peters College was the first environment in which I experienced the collaborative interaction between professors and students. The education I received there, both academic and personal, continues to provide an excellent foundation for success.
William Gutsch ’67
The Jesuit philosophy and consequent broad based education that I received at Saint Peter’s created both the right knowledge base and mind set to allow me to further broaden my interests and pursuits in graduate school and throughout a multi-discipline career … from my years as Chairman of the American Museum-Hayden Planetarium in New York to my time working with the astronauts in Washington as President & CEO of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education to consulting for science centers from Europe to Asia and South America to years of writing and producing for television and directing on sound stages from Hollywood to Lucasfulms and my serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. It is now my pleasure to be back at Saint Peter’s teaching in several departments and sharing my experience with both undergraduates and candidates in our doctoral program.