Congratulations to senior Tianna Couch who was selected as a Dr. Jong-Pil Lee Scholarship recipient from the Long Island Mathematics Conference Board. She will be presented with a $1,500 scholarship at the introductory ceremonies for the Long Island Mathematics Conference on March 15 at the SUNY College at Old Westbury.

Citing math and statistics as favorite subjects to study, Tianna’s successful high school career is varied and interesting. She has taken numerous Advanced Placement courses, is a member of both the cross-country and track teams, is involved in student government, the Environmental Club and numerous STEM initiatives, and is a member of the National Honor Society. In addition, Tianna took a Python programming course through the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University and attended the University of Connecticut precollege summer program. She is involved in Girl Scouts, held a position as an intern in a Port Jefferson Village law office, babysits, works in a local shop as a cashier and takes part in community service activities through the high school’s Student Organization.

Tianna describes lessons she has learned from high school math teachers Christine Morgan and Dennis Christofor that have set her on a path to study statistics or data science in college.

“I learned from Mr. Christofor that you need to work hard to do well in math. This helped me gain confidence in my abilities,” she said. In Ms. Morgan’s class, she realized that there is more than one way to look at even the easiest problem. “I also learned that if you love something and work hard, success will follow.”