Heaven Felters

KIPP Bloom College Prep

Austin College & Career Academy HS

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“Heaven is deeply tied to a sense of purpose for herself and the teams of which she is a member”

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Heaven joined Math Circles of Chicago via Project Exigent, a consortium of mathematicians, teachers, and students on the west side of Chicago. Through dedication in summer programs as well as academic year programming, she has developed a strong foundation in both curricular and recreational mathematics. She plans to attend DePauw University this fall.

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How did you develop an interest in mathematics? What has your learning experience been like in school up to this point? What challenges, socially and/or academically, have you faced in this journey? 

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At first, when I was younger I always loved math until I got to my freshman year I was like “this math is so hard!” Then one day I went to my teacher and studied better and I found out that math is not hard. It's just you have to put the effort in to like it and become better. So ever since I had that challenge I liked doing math.

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What is your mathematical power? How has your work with Math Circles of Chicago helped you develop that power?

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My first day at Math Circles we were learning how to develop shapes and how do we work around shapes and I caught on so fast even though I didn’t know how to work around shapes when my Teachers explained it I was like oh I can do this so as I’m doing it shapes can become a hard task. But math circles taught me that math can be hard, but you just have to work around certain things.

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MC2 College Pathways is dedicated to helping students find their own pathway forward in STEM. Please describe your future plans for college and beyond. 

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When I graduate in the spring, I want to major in nursing or dental. I also have a backup plan if that doesn’t go as planned. I want to become a math teacher so I can teach others what I knew when I was in high school or middle school.

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