Association for Women in Mathematics Aim High

Women in STEM: Opportunity and Achievement

Female representation in mathematics is being enhanced and supported through clubs and scholarship programs. Here are examples of some of the initiatives in place.

Association for Women in Mathematics Aims High

Cal Poly's Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is thriving with ambitious and sophisticated members. The association said that its "members aim high, whether it's to pursue working in the industry or academia."

"Our goal is to cultivate an inclusive community to uplift women and nonbinary individuals in their mathematical endeavors," club officials note. "Our mission is to support our members' professional development at Cal Poly by hosting both social and guest speaker events, connecting members with the overall math community and successful AWM alumni.”

Guests have included Paige Hillen and Leah Hoogstra who shared their experiences in their current Ph.D. programs, offering advice to club members considering a career path in academia.

Social events such as poker and trivia nights foster member connections, ensuring Cal Poly's women in math feel part of the broader mathematical community.

For more information about the club, go to their Instagram page here.

Women in STEM Scholarship Awards $20,000

In 2023, the Bailey College established the new Women in STEM Scholarship for members of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) and Women in Physics (WiP) student clubs for the 2023-2024 academic year.

This was the first scholarship of its kind for either club, offering $5,000 Women in STEM Scholarships.

The two AWM members selected were Madison Lytle and Madeleine Goertz.

Goertz is a mathematics major who placed first in her category at the 2023 California State University Research Competition, and Lytle is a double major in math and aerospace engineering.

Lytle’s math accomplishments at Cal Poly included award recognition from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) as part of a student team that ranked in the Top 29 among about 15,000 teams that participated in the competition overall.

Lytle is pictured below in the middle and Goertz on the right below with AWM's faculty advisor, Joyce Lin, at the scholarship presentation.