Contact: Michael Padilla, 277-1816

Feb. 4, 2003 Los Alamos High School Graduate Shanna Croney wants to give back to community University of New Mexico Presidential Scholar Shanna Croney says she would like to return to Los Alamos after she becomes a math teacher. She is majoring in secondary education, with an emphasis in math and was listed on the Dean’s List at UNM last semester. “I chose math as my major because I had several very good teachers at Los Alamos High School and they made me realize that I wanted to teach,” she said. As a teacher she hopes to come up with new ideas to motivate students about the importance of math. “I know from just being a student that there will be some students who just don’t want to learn and then I will have to try to figure out a way to reach that student,” she said. “ I hope to give my students an understanding of math and hopefully an appreciation for it.” Math is used in many careers and is important for people to have a good grasp of the subject, she said. “Math is used everyday in real life,” Croney said. “Even just simple math like figuring out what kind of gas mileage their car gets.” As a freshman, she has found the biggest challenge at UNM is adjusting to the size of the campus. “More people attend UNM than live in Los Alamos, so it is quite an adjustment,” she said. “I am really enjoying the instructors here. You can tell that they love their fields and, so far, all of the instructors I have had are very passionate about teaching it.” When Croney is not busy with her classes and studying, she enjoys spending time with friends. “It doesn’t matter really what we do. I just enjoy spending time with my friends and they can always cheer me up when I’ve had a particularly difficult day,” she said. Her parents are Steven and Rashelle Croney. ###

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