Mount math enthusiasts exercise brain and brawn

NEWBURGH — Just days before Mount Saint Mary College’s 2013 commencement, teams of students in color-coordinated athletic garb proved their mathematical might at the annual Knight Race.

Participants were given two hours to complete 10 mathematical challenges at stations around the campus. With a ten-minute limit per challenge, students had to hustle between stations to complete their tasks on time.

In the end, the teal team – composed of math majors Rachel McGinty of the Village of Florida, Elizabeth Briskey of Hyde Park, Katherine Tischer of Port Jefferson and Kevin Papageorge of Warwick – took the gold.

Strong faculty and small classes, along with state-of-the-art equipment, helps prepare Mount students for careers in educational technologies, networking and Web technologies. For future math teachers, a SMART board develops skills required for New York State assessments. Students graduating with mathematics and information technology degrees work as financial analysts, actuaries, bank managers, statisticians, researchers, programmers and teachers.