Math teachers in the making

Six talented math students from Queensborough Community College have drawn one-step closer to fulfilling their dreams of becoming math teachers. As part of the college's Teacher Improvement through Mathematics Education (TIMEQCC) program, the students will receive full scholarships to complete their education at New York University or Queens College.
TIMEQCC, a program funded by the National Science Foundation, aims to provide Queensborough Community College students with a seamless path to a four-year degree, with the potential for full scholarships awarded in their junior and senior years. Its goal is to increase the pool of future middle and high school teachers by targeting older students and foreign born students.
&#8220The economic and demographic diversity of our community college students presents special issues in preparing them to be mathematics teachers,” said Sandra Peskin, Co-Director of the program with Dr. Mona Fabricant. &#8220Students face time constraints due to family and work obligations; some students need confidence-building to give them a feeling that they really can succeed.”
Under the TIMEQCC Program, the students undergo a rigorous academic curriculum and graduate with an Associate in Science degree. Three terms of calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, an interdisciplinary course in psychology and mathematics are required. Students must also spend 70 hours per term of tutoring both at Queensborough Community College and in local high schools.
Jessica Dimech, Ciprian Ghita, Nataliya Khomyak and Lok Hang Yung were awarded full scholarships to New York University. Mark Dinovitser and Beata Warchol received full scholarships to Queens College. &#8220These students will go on to teach students like themselves and their success can be the motivation for the success of their own students,” said Dr. Maria Franco, faculty member of TIMEQCC.
&#8220TIMEQCC has given me the confidence and motivation,” Dimech said, &#8220to know that I can succeed in a subject and environment that once intimidated me.”
With intentions of teaching at the high school level, Ms. Dimech hopes to make learning math a more exciting experience than she had herself in high school. &#8220If I can bring a little excitement to a class, if I can open the eyes of just a few students who at one point were just like me and believed they couldn’t do it, then I will have succeeded,” she said.
&#8220We are thrilled with the academic achievements of these students,” Franco added. &#8220They are living proof that when students are given a program designed to meet their needs and receive plenty of faculty support, they can excel academically and become an asset to the education community.”