Teen Helps Native Students Earn Math Skills at NM Summer Camp

When most teens were sleeping in last summer, Ruchira Shree was teaching math to Native American students in New Mexico and discovering how ancient traditions connect to modern science.

The West Windsor-Plainsboro High School student volunteered at the Alliance for Indigenous Math Circles summer camp in Santa Fe. The free weeklong program helps Native students overcome a troubling gap: Indigenous students pursue STEM careers at lower rates than any other demographic in America.

Shree's path to the camp started years ago in the back of IEEE meetings, where she'd sit while her mother attended as vice chair of the Princeton Central Jersey Section. Those childhood hours led to real involvement as she grew older, helping with registration and meeting mentors who would change her summer plans.

Francis O'Connell, an IEEE life senior member, mentored Shree and connected her to the camp recruiter at a conference. The opportunity came with a challenge: she needed to cover travel costs. The IEEE section stepped up with a $1,500 grant.

At camp, Shree learned something that transformed how she thinks about math education. Native communities have used complex mathematics for centuries, from the Navajo code talkers who helped win World War II to the precise calculations needed to build traditional hogans. One student's grandfather had been a code talker himself.

Camp codirector Donna Fernandez believes typical classrooms miss this rich mathematical heritage. By connecting STEM activities to cultural traditions, students see their ancestors as the mathematicians they were.

The camp brings together students and interns in math circles, where teams collaborate on problems and defend their solutions to each other. Shree and other interns guided students through challenges and answered questions. Between problem-solving sessions, everyone participated in cultural exchanges and off-site events.

The Ripple Effect

The relationships built during that week matter as much as the math learned. Students return year after year asking if their favorite interns are coming back. The cultural exchanges flow both ways, with interns like Shree gaining perspective while Native students see new possibilities for their futures.

Since 2017, the Alliance has run two camps annually, recently expanding from just the Navajo Preparatory School to include the Santa Fe Indian School. Each camp removes financial barriers entirely through sponsorships and donations.

For Shree, who earned a spot on the AMC 8 honor roll as a seventh grader (top 1% nationally), sharing her math passion came naturally. This summer she's continuing to sharpen her skills while staying involved with IEEE activities. The camp showed her that the best math problems are solved together.