UW-Superior Celebrates 3rd Annual Sonia Kovalevsky Day

SUPERIOR, Wis.– UW-Superior held their 3rd annual Sonia Kovalesky Day to highlight mathematical activities for young girls.

76 girls from schools throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota met today to rotate through workshops, run by mathematics professors.

The gathering designed to celebrate Sonia Kovalevsky. The first woman in Europe to receive a PHD.

The event is also included career exploration, where students learned more about potential future professions utilizing math.

Being a positive outlet for STEM related careers means a lot for the professors involved in this event.

“For me, to empower them, to be interested in these fields, just because there’s so many opportunities for them. I just think we want them to know that they can do it, and those options are there. And they shouldn’t shy away from them just because math might be hard or challenging,” said Kristin Riesgraf. A professor at UW-Superior.

For one of the girls attending the events it was a different learning experience than she has ever had previously.

“I also do math league, so that’s obviously not all girls. So, to come here it’s just really cool to learn about women in STEM and women in mathematics and about different job opportunities as we further our education,” said Addison Hansen, a senior at Northwestern High School.

One of the activities the girls participated in was a scavenger hunt where students explored code breaking and cryptography.