This young lady is extraordinary. She works hard as a CA, she is the president of NRHH, and she is lover of numbers. This week’s campus celebrity is Abby Daum. Abby is a junior, math education major at IUP. She was raised around the outskirts of Pittsburgh and she was influence to come to IUP by her peers.
“First, I really wanted to go to University of Pittsburgh, but the school didn’t have a major for Math Education. I kept hearing good things about IUP and how they had a really good education program so I applied to the school and got accepted six days later.”
In Abby’s freshman year, she begin her journey and passion for helping residence halls with programs and events as a member of Residence Hall Council (RHC). As a member of RHC, she acted as liaison between the residents and the Office of Housing and Residence Life. After helping with RHC, she decided that she wanted to focus on helping students academically and she applied to be an Academic Success Mentor (ASM) and was hired in the Putt/Delaney community. As an ASM, she helped students with their academics and developed educational programs in order to help students succeed at the university.
“I’ve always been a person that is all about academic success and after being in RHC, I wanted to become an Academic Success Mentor. I like doing programs that will help people in the future and I like helping students academically, that’s why I became a CA.’
Now, in Abby’s junior year, she is a Community Assistant in the Putt/Delaney community and she is the president of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH). As the president of NRHH, she provides service opportunities to the IUP and Indiana communities. The organization encourages students in residence life to become involved in the community and strive for academic success.
Abby is also a member of Pre-Service Teachers of Mathematics (PTM), an organization with the purpose to encourage mathematics in elementary, middle, and high schools and get students interested in the wonderful world of numbers.
Abby is a natural born leader and helps IUP students become leaders in their own way. Abby stays busy during the week, but she believes it is worth it in order to gain success.
“I’m always busy. I am either working with NRHH, doing my duties as a CA, participating in CA programs, or doing pre-student teaching at the school. Sometimes it’s tiring, but it is worth it at the end of the day.”
One of Abby’s goals is to become a math teacher and this year, she is participating in pre-student teaching at Indiana High School. Her main goal is to teach seventh to twelve grade students’ math and get them more engaged in the subject. “Many students think math is hard and it is, but if you’re willing to do it, it’s not as bad as you think.”
This is just the beginning for Abby. She is in the process of becoming a great math teacher, successful mentor, and innovative leader. Abby’s final advice to future students and IUP students is to try new things, “Students shouldn’t be afraid to try new different things. You never know if you will or will not like something if you never try it.” Abby’s words of wisdom prove her ambition and show that she will continue to lead in a positive direction. Abby will surely achieve all of the goals she has set for herself.