By Staff Reports

RAINSVILLE, Ala. — The NACC Mu Alpha Theta math honor society offers several math events for students on the Northeast Alabama Community College campus: induction ceremonies for new members, a Pi Day celebration, and the annual Algebra I Bowl for area students.

3.14 Pi Day was celebrated in the Math, Science, Engineering, and Technology atrium on March 14 with various math events:  pi symbol scavenger hunt, graphing yoga, reciting the digits of pi, racing to complete the unit circle, math videos, measuring to find pi, and the popular M&M guessing jar.  Bradley Pilgrim guessed 1,312 M&Ms in the jar, only three away from actual number of 1,309.  Bradley’s time of 1:54 was also the fastest in the race to complete the unit circle.  Daley Wilks recited an amazing 55 digits in the decimal part of pi!  3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993750582097. The official snack food of Mu Alpha Theta is M&Ms because “Math Matters!”

The annual Algebra I Bowl for area Algebra I students was held on March 15.  Top scorer Cade Myers received a new TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator and bag of M&Ms.  Section High School had 13 participants and was also awarded a new TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator for their math department.  NACC College and Career Planning director Sherry Whitten held a college orientation session for parents and chaperones while students took the test.

In addition to these math events, the NACC chapter of Mu Alpha Theta also sponsors:

• Summer Honors Scholarships to current Mu Alpha Theta members taking at least three semester hours during a summer semester;
• a 5K run/walk in the fall to raise scholarship funds, co-sponsored with SGA and Sigma Kappa Delta;
• a toner and cell phone recycling project to raise scholarship funds; and
• a tutor shadowing project for education majors.

NACC alumna Crystal Laws McCartney visited the campus for the spring induction ceremony, where she described her mission with the Redstone Arsenal Aviation Missile Research Development and Engineering Directorate (AMRDEC).  Mrs. McCartney is a UAH electrical engineering graduate who was honored as the 2008 Outstanding Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Student.  She serves as an advisor to the UAH chapter of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi.  She also serves as the district director for Tau Beta Pi chapters at UAH, UAB, University of Alabama, Mississippi State, and Auburn University.

Tau Beta Pi is the only engineering honor society that represents all engineering professions. The primary purpose is to encourage and recognize superior scholarship and leadership achievement in all areas of engineering.

Mr. Fred Johnson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Farmer Telecommunications Cooperative, was the guest speaker at the summer induction ceremony.  Mr. Johnson’s career spans 35 years in fields of public accounting, rural electric distribution, and telecommunications.  He currently represents the southeastern United States as a member of the board of directors for both the NTCA Rural Broadband Association in Arlington, VA, and the Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative in Dulles, VA.  He is a gubernatorial appointee to the Alabama 911 Board, where he serves as Vice Chairman.  He also serves as a public member of the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education.  Mr. Johnson offered words of advice for future millennial generation employees.  “Find a sense of fulfillment in your job by making a difference in someone’s life.  Have perseverance in your employment.  Match your passion with your capabilities.  Maintain integrity at all times.”

Mu Alpha Theta is the national mathematics honor society for community college and high school students throughout the United States. The purpose of Mu Alpha Theta is to promote scholarship in, and enjoyment and understanding of, mathematics.  To be eligible for membership in Mu Alpha Theta a student must have completed MTH112 Precalculus Algebra or a higher level mathematics course; have a 3.0 GPA (out of a possible 4.0) in all two year college mathematics courses at or above the MTH112 level; and be pursuing a higher level mathematics course, that is one above the MTH112 level.

For questions regarding mathematics courses at NACC contact a Mu Alpha Theta sponsor:  John Camp, 256-638-4418 or 256-228-6001 ext. 2370, campj@nacc.edu; Adam Niblett, ext. 2389, nibletta@nacc.edu; or Milah Breland, ext. 2262, brelandm@nacc.edu.

For additional college information, go to www.nacc.edu or download the college’s free App from the App Store or by going to www.naccmobile.com.