Alvaro is a graduate student at the University of Waterloo (UW) in Canada. After immigrating to the US from Peru at the age of 18, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and currently he is working on a masters in Combinatorics and Optimization at UW. The program that developed Alvaro’s affinity for research was an REU program at Lafayette College. He is eager to help other students have similar experiences. The success of this conference is important to Alvaro because, as an immigrant with a late start in his mathematical career, he knows that many difficulties arise when joining the field.

Ashka is a junior at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (a.k.a. Rose or RHIT). At Rose, through the R² program, she anticipates a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics with minors in Spanish and Music and a Master’s in Engineering Management by the end of her 4 years there. After undergrad she hopes to pursue a PhD in math. This ambition has been supported through a love for math and incredible opportunities, including: former Outreach Director and current Secretary of the RHIT AWM chapter, volunteer at high school math competitions hosted by Rose, tutor (math focused) at the RHIT Learning Center, researcher at the YSU-BUMP Summer REU program, and mentor for Rose Prime. Ashka has made connections with people in the math community that have granted her these opportunities and have allowed her to feel safe and a sense of belonging in the community. As a bi, genderqueer woman of color, she hopes that she can be a connection that helps others find the opportunities to support their ambitions and the same safety and belonging that she has felt and found in mathematics.

Brittany is a second year PhD student in mathematics at Rutgers University, where she is the recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Rutgers Presidential Fellowship. She graduated in 2021 from Muhlenberg College with a major in mathematics. She is interested in topological data analysis and other areas of mathematics related to artificial intelligence alignment, such as agent foundations. In summer 2022, she interned at NASA and worked on mathematics exposition for Machine Intelligence Research Institute. During undergrad, she did REU programs at DIMACS and Lafayette College, studied abroad at Budapest Semesters in Mathematics, and did outreach as president of a chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics. This is Brittany’s third time helping organize OURFA²M²; she feels passionate about helping others discover their potential for a career in mathematics, no matter where or when they are starting.

Michael N Johnson III is currently a graduate student, an Associate Instructor of Record, and an (IGWC-UE) Union Representative of the Mathematics Department at IU. He is also the Resident Mathematics Tutor at the Center for Veterans and Military Students at IU. He first began his venture into academia as a 21-year-old at Grand Rapids Community College. After getting an associate degree, dropping out, and failing out along the way, it culminated in him receiving his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at Indiana University 12 years later.

While at community college he began a tutoring program to serve other non-traditional and first-generation students which was his first attempt at giving back to the community that had helped him. In his return to university during the pandemic, with the barriers and lack of community he had felt, he was able to find respite and attend OURFA2M2. Through the information provided and the sense of community, it inspired him to pursue graduate school. Since then, he has been a part of the Directed Reading Program at IU, worked as a research assistant, was a 2021 SEISMIC Scholar, a 2021 Polymath Jr. REU participant and presenter (JMM accepted talk), and helped organize OURFA²M² 2021.

Bowen is a third-year undergraduate pursuing pure math at Carleton College. His research interests are combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, and cryptography. He is also an avid problem solver. He actively participates in the problem-solving group at Carleton and also Putnam and Konhauser Competitions. He had his first research experience at Polymath Jr. REU. He is also an alum of both Budapest Semester in Mathematics and Mathematics Education. He also thinks of mathematical teaching as an important part of his mathematical journey. He has been teaching AP Calculus and IB Mathematics since his freshman year. At Carleton, he is a tutor at Math Skill Center. He also loves to record videos on mathematical concepts he finds intriguing. He hopes to share his joys for mathematics with more people. He attended the OURFA²M² 2020 conference, was moved by the stories current mathematicians told of their struggles in mathematics, and is inspired to join the organizing committee for OURFAM2 2022. As an international student, he understands the difficulties and struggles in learning mathematics international students face. He wants to share his experience and let people from different backgrounds feel more welcomed in the mathematical community.

Zoe is a junior studying Mathematics and English Literature at Swarthmore College. She is the Assistant Producer of “Mathematically Uncensored,” a podcast about people of color in mathematics, and is on the board of GeMS (Gender Minorities in Math and Statistics) at her home institution. Zoe has attended both the Summer@ICERM REU and the Mathily-EST REU. After many years of doubting whether she belonged in mathematics, Zoe hopes to work with OURFA²M² to create a math community where everyone can be their true selves.

Jenna Race is a non-traditional first-generation college student. She studies mathematics at Century College in White Bear Lake, MN. In 2021, she was awarded the Century College Foundation Mathematics Scholarship. For two years Jenna worked as a peer math tutor in the Century College Math Resource Center. In addition to being a student, Jenna works full-time for Metro Transit as an Associate Communications Specialist.

Jenna’s path to math was not linear. She started and stopped college several times. She eventually resumed college in her early 30's, but studied business rather than math. She decided to change majors to math after taking College Algebra and Statistics. She credits her success to the support she received from her professors and mentors, and helpful friends from Math Twitter. She was especially inspired by attending the OURFA²M² conferences in 2020 and 2021.

Luke is a first-year mathematics PhD student at Michigan State University. His past affiliations include Washington University in St. Louis, Grand Challenge Scholars Program, and Budapest Semesters in Mathematics, and he had his first math research experience with the Michigan State University REU in 2018. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Louisiana Tech University in May 2020 at the onset of COVID-19. While struggling to stay in touch with the mathematics community during his gap year, he attended the OURFA²M² 2020 conference and was inspired to apply to more math programs after meeting other LGBTQ+ mathematicians. As a transgender man, Luke hopes to become the LGBTQ+ representation in math that he did not see as an undergraduate. He is excited to continue working with the OURFA²M² organizing team for a second year to provide valuable resources to undergraduate students.

Vanessa is a Brazilian-Taiwanese-American artist, mathematician, and scientist. She is a geochemistry PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and studio art, with minors in political science and media studies, at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY). Vanessa is also a proud alum of the 2020 MSRI-UP REU program and interned at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Vanessa is passionate about sharing resources with undergraduate math students and in creating a more inclusive and diverse mathematics community. OURFA2M2 is important to her because she did not have mentorship nor guidance on opportunities and resources to learn about research mathematics prior to MSRI-UP. She hopes that students with similar backgrounds will feel welcome and encouraged to pursue research careers.

Lee is a first-year PhD student at the University of Minnesota. She earned a BS in math from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, with minors in German, political science, and astronomy/astrophysics. Her research interests are in number theory, graph theory, voting theory, and mathematical art. Some formative experiences of her undergraduate experience include being a counselor at Rose-Hulman AMP and PROMYS, TA'ing for The Art of Problem Solving, participating in the REU at Grand Valley State University, studying and researching with Budapest Semesters in Mathematics and Mathematics Education, and working on various research projects in math and physics with professors at her school, as well as, of course, starting OURFA²M². As a queer and genderqueer woman who manages chronic illness and comes from a background without much financial support, Lee has seen many angles of the fight to make a place for yourself in mathematics when you aren’t what people expect a mathematician to be. She hopes to make that fight a little easier for those who come after her.