Sonia Lackey ’25 Wins MATHCOUNTS Community Scholarship

Congratulations to Sonia Lackey ’25, winner of a 2022 MATHCOUNTS Community Scholarship! She will receive a $3,000 college scholarship in recognition of her efforts to create a math tutoring program at The Village Charter School (VCS) in Trenton, N.J. She is in conversation now with school officials to see how MATHCOUNTS might align with the VCS mission and needs. Lackey said there are several possible options, which could include in person coaching, Zoom meetings, pre-recorded videos or some combination of the three.

“In general, I will introduce MATHCOUNTS and the resources of the problem-solving library to the school in order to introduce STEM at a younger age. As a coach, I will work with the students through difficult problems in order to work on their analytical reasoning skills,” Lackey explained.

Her long-term goal is to create a self-sustaining program that will teach children skills that might not be covered through the school’s regular math curriculum. “I want to make an impact on these students' lives. If only one of them comes away with a love for STEM, I will have achieved my goal,” she said.

Solving math riddles in class, building lightsabers out of plastic wrap and LED light, and launching homemade rockets from the field behind the school, Lackey said, instilled in her a love of STEM subjects at an early age. “My parents and teachers introduced me to the possibility that math and science could take me anywhere from the depths of the Earth’s core to far above the atmosphere,” she said. “I first joined the MATHCOUNTS Club in sixth grade, and I immediately fell in love with the problems, which tested my critical thinking skills. Serving as a MATHCOUNTS coach would be a great way for me to help introduce younger students to feel the same excitement for STEM.”

While she feels she had a strong foundation in math and science, participating in MATHCOUNTS helped her increase her skills. “MATHCOUNTS improved my analytical reasoning, and I loved the feeling of figuring out a problem that challenged me. It helped me become a better math student and taught me how rewarding it is to overcome an obstacle,” she said. “MATHCOUNTS also gave me the confidence and skills to work as a tutor at the Kumon Math and Reading Center, teaching kids aged three to thirteen basic tasks such as writing numbers, as well as more complicated mathematical functions such as calculus. Even in high school, I’ve enjoyed peer tutoring sessions — so much that my class officers awarded me a freshman superlative, ‘Most Likely to Become a Math Teacher.’”

For additional information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.