When Mayra Sahagun is driving to the CI campus, she pays special attention to the road. She notices which freeway entrances have ramp meters and where lanes merge. She glances at the clock when traffic seems particularly heavy or light, and makes a mental note of where the bottlenecks are.
While Sahagun knows traffic as well as any Southern Californian, she has a vested interest in traffic flow. For her master鈥檚 thesis in mathematics, Sahagun is using applied principles to research traffic control in her own backyard. Using Caltrans data, she鈥檚 figuring out where traffic controls would alleviate congestion on Highway 101 from Woodland Hills to Hollywood.
Sahagun finds her thesis鈥檚 real-world connection exciting. 鈥淧eople use freeways, especially if you live in Los Angeles,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we could find something to monitor traffic so there wouldn鈥檛 be as much or make it smoother, people in the area would be really happy about it. It鈥檚 important for not just my project, but other people that enjoy math and want to find something to apply math to.鈥�
鈥淚 like how there鈥檚 math in anything. You get to apply it to your everyday life.鈥�
鈥揗ayra Sahagun
For as long as she can remember, Sahagun has loved math and wanted to be a teacher. As an undergraduate math student at CI, she had her sights set on a teaching career. She also started teaching remedial math classes at the university in 2014, her first year as a graduate student. But her thesis, with the help of her advisor Cynthia Flores, brought up the idea of using math outside of the classroom.
鈥淒r. Flores said, 鈥榊ou can do these other things with math.鈥� I didn鈥檛 think about it because I鈥檝e always had my mind set on 鈥業 want to be a teacher,鈥欌�� Sahagun said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 opening my mind with other career opportunities.鈥�
The faculty support has empowered Sahagun throughout her academic career. As a first-generation college student from Oxnard, she鈥檚 appreciated the encouragement to explore her love for math.
鈥淭he grad program has definitely been a good influence,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he Math program definitely prepares you for any scenario in the real world. Any job, you鈥檒l be prepared for that.鈥�
Sahagun is exploring a career in traffic modeling and analysis. But teaching isn鈥檛 off the table鈥娾�娾�斺�娾�妛hen she graduates in June, she plans to return to CI for her credential and teach at local community colleges. But wherever she goes, she knows she鈥檒l be using her math degrees.
鈥淚 like how there鈥檚 math in anything. You get to apply it to your everyday life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e buying a home, if you鈥檙e thinking about getting a car or investing in something important, you always need your math.鈥�
漏 Spring 2016 / Volume 20 / Number 01 / Bi-annual