Louis Brown

Mathematics

Bridgewater, NJ

What is your main Cornell extracurricular activity -- why is it important to you?

Math club (I'm the president). I like showing people that math can be fun; most people spend so much time afraid of it, they don't realize that they can enjoy it too!

What was your most profound turning point while at Cornell?

Finding a community. Truly immersing myself with people who understand and appreciate me, who will stay up till 5 joking and discussing philosophy and not regret it for a second. That was something I'd never had before, and it was so liberating to discover here.

Who or what influenced your Cornell education the most? How or why?

Honestly, the students around me were at least as influential as my professors. My mathematical comrades never ceased to ponder questions far outside our course material, continually inspiring (and forcing) me to think harder and learn more to keep up. The nice thing is they were never the least bit competitive about it; they are just genuinely excited, as am I, to study math and share it with others!

What do you value about your liberal arts education?

Having different perspectives. Most of my friends aren't in my major. It's great to be able to hear about the studies of others and the insights their specializations give them – even in casual conversation, the ideas and methodologies of a student's field bleed into their thought processes. I've gotten the opportunity to hear insights I simply never would have considered myself, and that's always fun.