18th Annual SK Day to be Held April 25

VALDOSTA – Valdosta State University’s 18^th annual SK Day will be held on Thursday, April 25, in the third floor ballroom of the Student Union.

SK Day is a project that seeks to encourage high school women to pursue the study of mathematics and prepare for possible careers in mathematics related fields. The event is named in honor of Sonia Kovalevsky, a Russian mathematician and the first women to earn a doctorate in mathematics.

Dr. Denise Reid and Dr. Sandy Trowell of the Department of Math and Computer Science are co-directing the event. Currently 10 schools are planning to attend and 68 participants have signed up.  

“I am very excited about VSU hosting another SK Day,” said Reid. “It is nice to get to continue this tradition that I helped begin 18 years ago. It is so important to let these young women know about opportunities available in mathematics and other STEM areas.”

Tentative schedule: 

8 a.m.: Registration and pictures   
8:30 a.m.: Welcome, Dr. Connie Richards, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
8:50 a.m.: Door prizes
9 a.m.: Forensic Science CSI Workshop, Dr. Joyce Chan
9:40 a.m.: Summer opportunity, Dr. Joyce Chan
9:45 a.m.: Break
9:55 a.m.: Exam
10:45 a.m.: Career speaker, Brittney Foster Hull, Environmental Engineer, Packaging Corporation of America                 
11:25 a.m.: Engineering at VSU, Dr. Mary Fares
11:35 a.m.: Lunch at Palms Dining Hall
12:15 p.m.: Anitiprisms, Dr. Arsalan Wares
12:55 p.m.: Walk to Nevins Planetarium
1 p.m.: Planetarium Workshop, Dr. Martha Leake
1:40 p.m.: Closing, contest winners and door prizes
2 p.m.: Dismissal

The sponsors for this year’s SK Day include: Walmart, Leona S. Hudson Charitable Foundation, Publix Supermarkets, Inc., Texas Instruments, Pearson, Wiley Publishers, Angie Crawford at State Farm, Hester and Morris Orthodontics, VSU’s Division of Academic Affairs, Wild Adventures and VSU’s Department of Math and Computer Science.

For more information about the event, contact Reid at 229-333-5784 or dtreid@valdosta.edu or Trowell at 333-5769 or strowell@valdosta.edu.