Math Circles of Chicago Renames Its STEM Scholarship in Honor of Founding Board Chair PJ Karafiol

Math Circles of Chicago (MC2) is proud to announce that its annual STEM scholarship for graduating high school seniors will now be known as the MC2 Karafiol Scholarship, named in honor of Paul "PJ" Karafiol — MC2’s founding board chair and current principal at Lake View High School.

The renaming recognizes Karafiol's foundational role in building MC2 into what it is today: an organization dedicated to developing the mathematical power of Chicago students and to building a genuine sense of belonging in advanced math spaces.

The high school program, MC2 College Pathways, invites students to investigate interesting math problems through the enrichment pathway, explore careers in teaching through the education pathway, and find other advanced math communities through the research pathway. All three pathways reflect values that PJ Karafiol championed throughout his career.

About PJ Karafiol: Enrichment, Education, and Research

PJ Karafiol helped bring MC2 into being and guided it through its formative years. He led the initial fundraising that allowed MC2 to grow from a weekend program serving dozens of students into an organization that has helped create math experiences for more than 7,000 students in the last academic year. More than a founder and fundraiser, though, PJ has lived out each of the three pathways the program now offers.

Enrichment: PJ took an active role in making sure the mathematical content of the high school program was both engaging and challenging. He wrote many of the original lessons and led several math circles himself, modeling the kind of joyful, rigorous problem-solving that defines the Cantor and Kovalevsky HS program levels.

Education: As a former classroom teacher and as principal of Lake View High School, Karafiol has spent his career doing exactly what this scholarship celebrates: opening doors to rigorous mathematics for students who might not otherwise have found their way in, and insisting that they belong there. His commitment to teaching, learning, and leading in Chicago Public Schools — and his active membership in professional math teacher organizations such as the Metropolitan Math Club of Chicago — has shaped countless students and colleagues alike.

Research: PJ's work in mathematics stretches well beyond CPS and MC2. He served as head author for the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), one of the most challenging (and interesting!) math competitions in the country. He is also an alumnus, teacher, and ardent supporter of the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics (HCSSiM), a summer program that helped define the model of challenging high school students with university-level mathematics.

There is no more fitting tribute to that legacy than the very award that celebrates the students who will carry his vision forward.

About the MC2 Karafiol Scholarship

Each year, the scholarship awards $2,000 toward postsecondary study in a STEM field to graduating seniors who have come up through MC2. MC2 Karafiol Scholars represent the most motivated, involved, and dedicated learners in our community. They embody MC2’s mission: to develop their mathematical power and build a sense of belonging in advanced math spaces as they set forth on their own mathematical pathway.

They also represent the optimism, joy, and commitment to hard work that have defined PJ Karafiol's career in mathematics. The scholarship is both a recognition of that commitment and an investment in where it will take them next.

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