Cultural Events

Q. What has been your experience with the Honors College?

A. I get to teach the Euclid class for the Honors College and it’s really my favorite thing to do! I have taught that class for the Honors College three times already. I love it so much—today especially because it was the day students present their projects. The projects are where I let students present a visual representation of Euclid’s Book I. It is always wonderful to see them use what they’ve learned, and I get to see Euclid presented in so many different ways. Because it is project day in particular, I really am just in love with that class and with my students!

Q. Why did you choose the Abbey?

A. Oddly, I felt like Belmont chose me. I’m from Gastonia, and I grew up here, but I left to attend college NC State. Just as I was finishing my PhD, my husband and I welcomed our second child, Ernie. He was born just two days after I walked at graduation! At that time I was really focused on my new baby and not looking for an academic job. We soon realized we wanted to move back home to be closer to family, and I started a nonprofit, STEM Education & Outreach in Gastonia in June 2018. In August of 2018, I realized I needed another job, and contacted Dr. Strugar in the math department just before classes started. Miraculously, he said I was needed! Dr. Strugar responded to my email and asked if I could talk right away in Belmont. I was very excited about the opportunity and agreed. During this time, my husband and I were in the process of converting to Catholicism, so I stopped at the bookstore before going to the science building, and I bought my first rosary, and a pamphlet on how to pray the rosary. Then I sat in the parking lot and prayed a rosary before talking with Dr Strugar. And, of course, I was asking God, “Can you give me some help and make sure this goes well?” After that meeting I was asked to cover classes for a professor who was in the process of going on maternity leave. Eventually I applied for a full-time job and got it the next year—it happened so miraculously that there was a need for me and a full-time job when I was looking for one.

Q. How did you get involved with the Honors College?

A. Dr Wysocki initially interviewed me before I was hired for the part time position in the math department. In the interview he asked a few questions to see how I aligned with the Honors College’s core values and asked how I felt about Catholicism. Obviously, as a recent convert, I talked his ear off and talked all about how I converted and why! A large part of my conversion was due to my majors in math and philosophy and how I understood truth through those two subjects. Because I was so passionate about math, philosophy, and how they are connected, he asked if I could teach the Euclid class—I was so excited to agree! That’s how I got to teach the Euclid class, and I would love to teach even more in the Honors College whenever I get the chance.

Q. What was your education like and where did you go for school?

A. I went to NC State for undergrad and ended up staying there for my masters and PhD. I double majored in math and philosophy. I had started out as a physics major, but soon switched to math as it seemed to offer more concrete truths. I decided to add a second major in philosophy, because math and philosophy were where I really thought I could find the truth, if there was truth to be found. The logic and rational proofs that I learned from math actually led me to the Church. I always say now that math is a gateway drug to Catholicism!

Q. What has been your favorite class to teach and why?

A. You think it would be nepotistic to say Euclid? But really, Euclid is my most honest answer. I get to combine the more philosophic seminar style and the math lecture. It is even more enriching each time I teach it. To teach students who care about their work and discover Euclid with them is always an exciting adventure!

Q. What has been the most influential class you ever took or taught?

A. I don’t know that I can narrow things down! Realizing when I went to math classes that they were actually just logic was really important. Intro to Logic was very influential—I really loved that class—and it made me want to study more philosophy, even major in it. Seeing that logic was in math as well really solidified that desire for me. I think I realized that if I wanted to study math, that it would make sense to major in both math and philosophy. I truly think logic is the machinery behind everything!

Q. Favorite topics or books to discuss?

A. Well, first I would like to say there are so many great math books! I would really love to do more math in the Honors college. Today in Euclid we were talking about a book that Lewis Carroll wrote, called, Euclid and His Modern Rivals. It’s a modern discourse, and its main point is that every other geometry book trying to do what Euclid did is insufficient, so there’s no point to studying anyone but Euclid. He makes a compelling argument that I mostly agree with—he presents the idea that all that we need are the great math books. To some degree, Euclid still holds up as the best geometry textbook, and I think it’s the only textbook we need for most levels of students. There's no reason to write any other textbooks. Of course, we’re discovering new kinds of math so there are reasons to write more books, but not to do things differently than how they’ve been done for the past thousand years. And that's what’s really great about the Honors College! The idea of looking for universal truths in what has built western civilization, looking for pure reason and truth in math and philosophy, helps us develop properly ordered thinking skills. If we can think properly and prove our statements with logic and reason, we can talk about anything else we need to. I think doing the math in freshman year is so important! If we study the way Euclid has given us geometry, we get proofs and reasoning skills that can be carried over. There are universal truths we can find in the Great Books, and while in Euclid there’s only a small subset of them, it lets us know that there are truths out there and that we can find them through studying these texts. I think the knowledge that we can seek out and learn universal truth is so important!

Q. If you could have lunch with one famous intellectual—living or dead—who would it be?

A. Da Vinci—I’ve never given that answer before! I think it’s because I saw some of his notebooks at an art museum years ago, and they were just full of thoughts. Not the typical things you associate with Da Vinci, like art and anatomy; he had notes about how water flows, hydraulic pumps, and just so much more. He must have sat around thinking about how the world works, art, and science. Just looking at his notebook, you really wonder—how did he have the time? I’d like to talk with him about that.

Q. If you could learn any new subject or skill, what would it be?

A. I think I’d have to say Astronomy. I feel that I am not even deserving of the title of “armchair astronomer,” but would love to be one, because I really enjoy space, telescopes, and everything to do with them, but never had the time to learn how to use one. I would like to spend as much time with a telescope as I spend thinking about using one in my head. I just think it would be an amazing thing to have time for!

Dr. Hren's Farewell Lecture