How a nonprofit is tackling math anxiety in girls
A nonprofit started five years ago by a middle-schooler is making a difference by spurring passion among girls in math and science fields through its “math-first” approach.
Now Mission:MathMinds is receiving support from the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund and the Herman + Rasiej Mathematics Initiative to further its mission and advance innovative programs addressing math anxiety in girls.
Programs include mentoring, scholar camps, national conferences, a global literacy campaign, and STEM kit donations to schools, as well as working with partners around the globe.
“It’s a massive step for a student-led organization to receive this type of national support,” said founder and CEO Ruby Arun, a 17-year-old Palatine resident who is now a senior at Fremd High School.
“Knowledge of mathematics and how it applies directly to your life greatly improves your ability to flourish,” Richard Rasiej, co-founder of the Herman + Rasiej Mathematics Initiative, said.
Arun launched Mission:MathMinds while she was a seventh-grader at Holy Family Catholic Academy in Inverness. The effort had its genesis during the pandemic as a virtual mentoring program involving elementary, middle, and high school girls in math. Mission:MathMinds has grown into a team effort with national and international impacts.
The organization aims to change mindsets and connect students with female role models in STEM. It highlights the importance of positive math experiences and addressing misconceptions about math in STEM fields to encourage more girls to pursue these fields.
“We work with girls at an early age, trying to foster their passion for math,” Arun said. “A lot of girls and students and adults globally are controlled and impacted by math anxiety. It’s something we may not know is happening to us.”
She said that anxiety may show up in such situations as paying a tip at a restaurant or even handling simple math.
“We really work on bringing their passion for math first, and hopefully inspire them to pursue other fields in STEM,” she said. “Our solution is really about changing the mindset,” she said. “So instead of running to a friend saying, ‘I hate math, I can't do math’, just take the opportunity to try and do the math problem.”
The second part is connecting girls with female role models in math and science.
“We have over 50 female role models who are math and science leaders talking about how they use math in their everyday lives,” Arun said.
Mission:MathMinds is now international, helping thousands of children in such countries as Africa, Poland and Ukraine through the Mission:MathMinds Global Book Drive and Mentoring Program, where their team worked with Ukrainian refugee children to rekindle a love for math in the midst of the Ukraine war. In 2023, the team created the first library at the United Nations Center for Education and Development.
The Palatine Township Elementary District 15 board of education recognized the district for its donation of more than 2,000 books as part of its STEM Awareness Campaign, in which more than 15,000 books, valued at more than $160,000, were collected. To date, the organization has collected and donated over $630,000 worth of educational resources globally.
“The work that Mission:MathMinds does has positively impacted our school and local community, while also addressing the global need for equal participation in mathematics,” said Christopher Grattoni, math department chair at Fremd and head math team coach.
Through Mission:MathMinds, he said, Arun has connected students from Fremd and beyond with inspiring female leaders in fields like medicine and computer science.
To learn more about Mission:MathMinds, visit missionmathminds.org.