Ruth Elizabeth Hilton - that's me! Though I may sometimes introduce myself as Ruth Pants and my last name is Pants on the book of faces, my real last name is Hilton. And no, I'm not related to Paris. I am, however, in my 8th semester at Utah State University and am working hard to get my bachelor's degree so I can make high school kids do math! And physics too.
How did I end up in this discipline? Math is one of my favorite things, so as a high school senior I decided that applying it through Mechanical Engineering was the thing for me. Once I got into my sophomore year of engineering, I figured out that I like math for math's sake, and don't like it being prostituted in the sciences all the time. Once I realized this, I hurriedly changed my major to Mathematics Education, so I could teach everyone the awesomeness of this, the purest of sciences. Or more realistically, I want to get at least a few of my students to not completely detest math. I'd also spent quite a bit of time tutoring math and had become addicted to that "Aha!" moment that comes when your student finally grasps a tricky math concept. Now I have one final year to prepare for the real test of my mettle - student teaching - and am hoping, betting, praying and pleading with the gods of math that I will be ready by then!
Besides math, what do I like to do? Many of the things I love come from that fact that I am infatuated with the outdoors; I love running, hiking, rollerblading, mountain biking, camping, fishing and jumping in puddles. Sometimes running gets to be less enjoyable, being obliged to do so very often as a member of the track and cross country teams at USU. Since I grew up in St. George, winter here in Logan has taken some major adjustments, not only due to how many clothes I must wear when I run. When the outdoors are too much of a winter wasteland, I morph into quite the nerd and like a few video games (Elder Scrolls), love reading science fiction and fantasy (WoT, HP, O.S. Card and the like) and knit like a ninja! Knitting is my most favorite of hobbies. Hence, I am the founder and Master of the USU Yarncraft Guild and spend way too much time on Ravelry. My most recently finished project, a cardigan for my friend's baby is pictured above!
How did I end up in this discipline? Math is one of my favorite things, so as a high school senior I decided that applying it through Mechanical Engineering was the thing for me. Once I got into my sophomore year of engineering, I figured out that I like math for math's sake, and don't like it being prostituted in the sciences all the time. Once I realized this, I hurriedly changed my major to Mathematics Education, so I could teach everyone the awesomeness of this, the purest of sciences. Or more realistically, I want to get at least a few of my students to not completely detest math. I'd also spent quite a bit of time tutoring math and had become addicted to that "Aha!" moment that comes when your student finally grasps a tricky math concept. Now I have one final year to prepare for the real test of my mettle - student teaching - and am hoping, betting, praying and pleading with the gods of math that I will be ready by then!
 |
| Tiny cardigan for baby Madelyn |
