Clara's Summer of Mathematics
Donation protected
GOAL: $5000
(I only set my GoFundMe goal of $2500 in case I do not meet my quota. GoFundMe will also charge 8% for every donation I receive. If you would like to help me avoid this fee, you can also donate through Venmo. My Venmo ID is Clara-Kim-28)
Hello, everyone,
Clara Kim here. I’m a Cambodian studying at the University of the South - Sewanee, USA—a junior, double majoring in mathematics and economics with a minor in business.
I fell in love with mathematics in preschool—it was an intellectual challenge, and a subject not loved by many. And it was also a form of rebellion: I was rebelling against the idea, all too common where I’m from, that girls cannot be better than boys (and should not try to be).
I grew up in Stung Treng, one of the poorest parts of Cambodia. Girls were expected to get married young, work in the garment factories or enter the sex trade. To be good in mathematics or sciences and to pursue higher education seemed like an impossible dream.
My high school math teacher once told me that a girl should not be too “successful” in mathematics or science as she won’t be able to find a suitable husband. I ignored that advice and have tried to go as far in math as my aptitude and work will take me. Two years ago, I set my sights on a highly selective math program in Hungary called, "the Budapest Semester in Mathematics (BSM)," to which my professor suggested I apply. And I just learned that I’ve been accepted!
(You’ll find more information about the program below.)
Going to Budapest not only tests my mathematical skills; it also proves that girls can be good at math. I would like to show my female friends from back home that it is possible to dream the impossible dream. I want to prove to my high school math teacher that my success has nothing to do with a suitable husband.
I am almost there. I just need a little extra help from you. In order to take part in this incredible journey, I will need to deposit a tuition fee of $5000 to the program by May 1st. Sadly, the program does not offer scholarships to international students. I’ve supported myself in my studies as best I can: I won a scholarship to Sewanee. And for the past three years, I’ve been saving money from my summer jobs and tutoring during the school year. But now I’ve run up against a financial barrier. I will be spending most of my savings on plane tickets from the United States to Cambodia (due to some VISA restrictions for Cambodians), from Cambodia to Europe and back to the United States. As a result, I won't be able to pay the tuition by myself.
I hope that you will be able to give me a little help. I am hoping to raise $5000 before May 1st. (I only set my GoFundMe goal of $2500 in case I do not meet my quota. GoFundMe will also charge me 8% for every donation I receive. If you would like to help me avoid this fee, you can also donate through Venmo. My Venmo ID is Clara-Kim-28)
Your donation will help send me on my journey—not only to Budapest, but ever closer to my goal: to build my skills and knowledge and make myself essential back home, in a place that, for far too long, has squandered half its human potential.
Help me show my high school teacher that she is wrong, and that a person’s worth should be measured by their knowledge, skills, creativity and hard work — and NOT by their sex. By my example, I aim to prove to Cambodians how much girls and women can accomplish, if we all encourage, support, and believe in them.
Thank you very much for your support. And in return for your generosity:
- For every $50 donation, I will send you a postcard from Budapest with a signed mathematics equation
- For every $250 donation, you will be invited to a special dinner in Nashville. I will be preparing authentic Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisines. (*note: My mom encouraged me to study, yes—but she also taught me to know my way around the kitchen. See the attached video for some tantalizing examples!)
- For every $500 donation, you will receive a private cooking lesson from me.
- If one of you ponies up a $5,000 donation, of course you will get the post card from Hungary, and the cooking lesson from me, as well as an intimate homemade Cambodian dinner for up to 6 accompanied by a private concert by world famous singer/songwriter, Jason White.
Again, thank you for your support and generosity.
With regards,
Clara
You can read more about my Big Life Plan in this Nashville Scene essay of 2015 .
**Video by the most talented, Kim Green.
About Budapest Semester in Mathematics:
Hungary has a very unique and excellent mathematics education with dedicated mathematics faculties who foster creativity and problem solving abilities in students.
BSM is a very selective summer study abroad program that offers intensive mathematics classes taught by Hungarian scholar-teachers. BSM instructors are members of Eötvös University, the Mathematical Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the three institutions known for having educated more than half of Hungary’s highly acclaimed mathematicians. The BSM program is very rigorous and is highly recommended by many Universities across the country including Stanford and Harvard University.
BSM classes are held at the College International, a Hungarian-based educational institution focusing on international students studying in Budapest, Hungary. All students who are accepted to this program are aspiring and dedicated mathematics students from all around the world.
For more information, please visit their website .
Some reviews from students who attended the BSM program:
"The single best educational aspect of BSM is that it puts 65 math geeks together in one program." - Juan Manfredi (Budapest, Fall 2010)
"There is continuous interactive feedback and discussion between teachers and the entire classroom of students. Math proofs are not static and written in stone, and professors emphasize more on the thinking process of problem solving rather than the end result." - Melissa Lim (Budapest, Spring 2010)
"Talking about math in a Budapest bar with a group of American college kids is a strange and very worthwhile experience." - Sam Rudy (Budapest, Summer 2013)
(I only set my GoFundMe goal of $2500 in case I do not meet my quota. GoFundMe will also charge 8% for every donation I receive. If you would like to help me avoid this fee, you can also donate through Venmo. My Venmo ID is Clara-Kim-28)
Hello, everyone,
Clara Kim here. I’m a Cambodian studying at the University of the South - Sewanee, USA—a junior, double majoring in mathematics and economics with a minor in business.
I fell in love with mathematics in preschool—it was an intellectual challenge, and a subject not loved by many. And it was also a form of rebellion: I was rebelling against the idea, all too common where I’m from, that girls cannot be better than boys (and should not try to be).
I grew up in Stung Treng, one of the poorest parts of Cambodia. Girls were expected to get married young, work in the garment factories or enter the sex trade. To be good in mathematics or sciences and to pursue higher education seemed like an impossible dream.
My high school math teacher once told me that a girl should not be too “successful” in mathematics or science as she won’t be able to find a suitable husband. I ignored that advice and have tried to go as far in math as my aptitude and work will take me. Two years ago, I set my sights on a highly selective math program in Hungary called, "the Budapest Semester in Mathematics (BSM)," to which my professor suggested I apply. And I just learned that I’ve been accepted!
(You’ll find more information about the program below.)
Going to Budapest not only tests my mathematical skills; it also proves that girls can be good at math. I would like to show my female friends from back home that it is possible to dream the impossible dream. I want to prove to my high school math teacher that my success has nothing to do with a suitable husband.
I am almost there. I just need a little extra help from you. In order to take part in this incredible journey, I will need to deposit a tuition fee of $5000 to the program by May 1st. Sadly, the program does not offer scholarships to international students. I’ve supported myself in my studies as best I can: I won a scholarship to Sewanee. And for the past three years, I’ve been saving money from my summer jobs and tutoring during the school year. But now I’ve run up against a financial barrier. I will be spending most of my savings on plane tickets from the United States to Cambodia (due to some VISA restrictions for Cambodians), from Cambodia to Europe and back to the United States. As a result, I won't be able to pay the tuition by myself.
I hope that you will be able to give me a little help. I am hoping to raise $5000 before May 1st. (I only set my GoFundMe goal of $2500 in case I do not meet my quota. GoFundMe will also charge me 8% for every donation I receive. If you would like to help me avoid this fee, you can also donate through Venmo. My Venmo ID is Clara-Kim-28)
Your donation will help send me on my journey—not only to Budapest, but ever closer to my goal: to build my skills and knowledge and make myself essential back home, in a place that, for far too long, has squandered half its human potential.
Help me show my high school teacher that she is wrong, and that a person’s worth should be measured by their knowledge, skills, creativity and hard work — and NOT by their sex. By my example, I aim to prove to Cambodians how much girls and women can accomplish, if we all encourage, support, and believe in them.
Thank you very much for your support. And in return for your generosity:
- For every $50 donation, I will send you a postcard from Budapest with a signed mathematics equation
- For every $250 donation, you will be invited to a special dinner in Nashville. I will be preparing authentic Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisines. (*note: My mom encouraged me to study, yes—but she also taught me to know my way around the kitchen. See the attached video for some tantalizing examples!)
- For every $500 donation, you will receive a private cooking lesson from me.
- If one of you ponies up a $5,000 donation, of course you will get the post card from Hungary, and the cooking lesson from me, as well as an intimate homemade Cambodian dinner for up to 6 accompanied by a private concert by world famous singer/songwriter, Jason White.
Again, thank you for your support and generosity.
With regards,
Clara
You can read more about my Big Life Plan in this Nashville Scene essay of 2015 .
**Video by the most talented, Kim Green.
About Budapest Semester in Mathematics:
Hungary has a very unique and excellent mathematics education with dedicated mathematics faculties who foster creativity and problem solving abilities in students.
BSM is a very selective summer study abroad program that offers intensive mathematics classes taught by Hungarian scholar-teachers. BSM instructors are members of Eötvös University, the Mathematical Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the three institutions known for having educated more than half of Hungary’s highly acclaimed mathematicians. The BSM program is very rigorous and is highly recommended by many Universities across the country including Stanford and Harvard University.
BSM classes are held at the College International, a Hungarian-based educational institution focusing on international students studying in Budapest, Hungary. All students who are accepted to this program are aspiring and dedicated mathematics students from all around the world.
For more information, please visit their website .
Some reviews from students who attended the BSM program:
"The single best educational aspect of BSM is that it puts 65 math geeks together in one program." - Juan Manfredi (Budapest, Fall 2010)
"There is continuous interactive feedback and discussion between teachers and the entire classroom of students. Math proofs are not static and written in stone, and professors emphasize more on the thinking process of problem solving rather than the end result." - Melissa Lim (Budapest, Spring 2010)
"Talking about math in a Budapest bar with a group of American college kids is a strange and very worthwhile experience." - Sam Rudy (Budapest, Summer 2013)
Organizer
Clara Kim
Organizer
Sewanee, TN
