Adrienne Riel

Back to All Mathematics Spotlights

I work with Greenleaf Forestry and Wood Products in Colorado and am subsequently pursuing graduate studies in forestry, more specifically in silviculture, the applied ecology and management of forests and woodlands. A background in mathematics has become valuable to this field, and I have been strongly encouraged by professors of forestry to apply to their graduate programs, even without the prior coursework in the natural sciences typically required. The data management and analysis skills I developed in math and computer science courses at Saint Michael’s will be useful in this field as they have been in many other ways.

I completed the process of earning a Vermont teaching license through the Teacher Apprenticeship Program based in Essex Junction. Middle- and secondary-level math teachers are in high demand here and everywhere, and my education in higher math has enabled me to keep open the door of this possibility and be a strong candidate for positions. I have found this has only been accentuated by Saint Michael’s reputation as an institution of rigorous academics and high ethics. In my student teaching at Middlebury Union Middle School, I assisted in coaching our MathCounts team to the state and national rounds of competition. My knowledge of high-level math and problem-solving strategies served me in working with these students as they tackled very challenging problems in all branches of mathematics.

Most important to me, though, are the understandings of mathematical truths and the reasoning skills I acquired and developed. They have universal applications and have impacted me personally as well as professionally. I’m very grateful for the quality of the education I received in the math department at Saint Michael’s.