Theodore Yochum '26

First math class at Swarthmore: My first math class at Swarthmore was Linear Algebra with Professor Miller, I really enjoyed it!

What was your favorite math class and why? My favorite math class was Partial Differential Equations with Professor Nakao, while I found the class to be quite difficult I thought the solutions we came to were incredibly satisfying and fascinating to see how very real world scenarios could be very clearly modeled.

Why did you become a math major?  I became a math major because as I was taking the required math courses for my engineering major I found that the classes and lectures I enjoyed the most and was most engaged in were those math classes. I think having a strong mathematical understanding is important for engineering intuition and I find the more applied disciplines of math really interesting.

How do you expect to use your mathematics after leaving Swarthmore?I will be going into some form of engineering and while I may not use the fourier transform in my everyday work, the intuition that a strong mathematics education provides will be very useful.

What advice do you have for an incoming student? College level math is nothing like high school, even if you hated high school math you should give it a shot again at Swarthmore. Additionally, use the resources available to you. In college asking for help and talking to your professor is expected, and it in no way indicates you are behind as it may have felt like it did in high school. Oftentimes asking for help will actually help you out more than you would expect as knowing your professor and TA is very useful.