University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

When I began college, I had not yet decided on a major. Even though I was strongly considering English, I began to realize that I greatly enjoyed studying mathematics. During my sophomore year, I was determined to declare a major by the start of the spring semester. With English and mathematics both competing for my attention, I selected one book from each subject to read during the winter break. For English I chose Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez and for mathematics I chose The Man Who Loved Only Numbers by Paul Hoffman. Although I was thoroughly captivated by the use of magical realism, I was ultimately won over by the pure joy that Paul Erdos, and those around him, derived from the study of mathematics. At that moment I knew I wanted to be a pure mathematician.