GLeaM
EXPERIENCE GLeaM
GLeaM, Girls Leading through Mathematics, seeks to empower girls through the creative, logical and limitless art of mathematics.
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Left: Watch our video promo from November 2019
Below: A rendering of the Mandelbrot set—an example of a fractal, a never-ending, complex pattern that repeats at various scales, often resulting from relatively simple equations
Mission
To inspire girls through the beauty of mathematics and encourage them to confidently pursue STEM careers
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To provide articles and resources to spark analytical, creative thought, and to showcase the creativity and accessibility of math
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To build a supportive, passionate global community around mathematics
ABOUT GLeaM
GLeaM's founder, Catherine Cossaboom, now an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, is the sole creator of all GLeaM events, articles, and curricula. She has been passionate about math from an early age. She is a member of Georgia's state math team, Georgia ARML, an alum of the Math Prize for Girls competition at MIT, and a successful participant in the MATHCOUNTS and AMC/AIME competitions. She served as a three-year captain of the Chamblee High School Math Team and led the team to back-to-back 5A State Championships. She attended the Georgia Governor's Honors Program in 2019, as a math major, and the prestigious Ross Mathematics Program for number theory studies in 2020. She has also completed the entire three-year curriculum of Art of Problem Solving's Worldwide Online Olympiad Training program. In July 2020, she became a Problem Writer for inteGIRLS, a dynamic girl-led nonprofit hosting math competitions and puzzle hunts across 15 international chapters, and she writes for the international magazine Gxrls in STEM.
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GLeaM focuses on fascinating fields of math outside the typical K-12 curriculum, such as number theory, graph theory, and combinatorics, as well as prep for middle and high school math competitions, including AMC and MATHCOUNTS.
Catherine sees math as empowering and life-affirming, and she is motivated to share this philosophy through mentoring and connecting with members of GLeaM.
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Note: This site is geared toward girls, and the majority of members identify as female or non-binary; however, everyone, regardless of gender identity, may join GLeaM as long as they are respectful and support the community. We welcome all members!
VALUABLE RESOURCES
GLeaM's website guides members through a variety of resources, including competition-related websites,
listings of opportunities around the world, and links to exciting topics in various fields of math. This creates an immersive experience for members and helps them to grow their knowledge and passion for STEM fields.
Image: The work of Dutch mathematical artist, M. C. Escher
IN-DEPTH ARTICLES
Frequent articles are uploaded, discussing eye-opening topics in math, as well as tips as to how to improve your math game, including prep for local and national math competitions.
A friendly server accessible for comments allows us to discuss the material and provides enrichment and puzzles for all types of problem-solvers.
Image: A closeup of a succulent plant, revealing patterns associated with the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden ratio
AN INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY
Each member of the GLeaM community has access to the forum, where they can post ideas, questions, stories, and anything they want to discuss with the community. In this way, the founder can also gather feedback to better curb the program to members and their interests.
You can sign up to become a member by clicking "Sign Up/Log In" in the upper right-hand corner.
Image: A fractal, the Sierpinski triangle, revealed by coloring in the even and odd numbers on Pascal's triangle
SCHEDULED EVENTS
Occasional scheduled events will occur, where we can delve further into an area of interest or into prep for competitions.
Event information will be posted well in advance to the forum.
Members are also always welcome to contact the founder for any advice or to set up a personal Zoom mentorship session.
Image: A portion of another fractal, the Julia set
OUR LOGO STORY
The great mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani's daughter often described her work as "painting," as she crouched on the floor drawing on large sheets of paper. Mirzakhani was the first woman to win the Fields Medal, an illustrious award that is often equated with the Nobel Prize for math. She was a major advocate for women in mathematics, and in 2017, she died from breast cancer at age 40. The paintbrush is a symbol of Mirzakhani, but also of the beauty of mathematics, closely intertwined with art in the way ideas transition marvelously into one another. Around the paintbrush is a fractal, the Sierpinski triangle, one of the most magnificent aspects of math, reminding us to pursue seemingly impossible dreams in surprising fractional dimensions.
“Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.”
Albert Einstein
CONTACT GLeaM
Right: M. C. Escher, "The Waterfall"
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