Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Farmington

Rylan Earnhart

I have taken Calculus 1-3, Inferential and Applied Statistics, Physics for Engineering, Linear Algebra, and Discrete Math. In high school, I was a competitive debater. I qualified to the national tournament all 3 years, and I was also the sterling scholar for speech and theater. I am currently a part of the University of Utah's "Teach for Utah" program that specializes in Education for STEM majors, with the hopes to graduate in 2027 with my Bachelor's degree in Math Education and a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. I tutored math throughout high school and I taught several subjects from trigonometry to calculus. In my spare time, I love running and hiking. I am also a musician and sing, beatbox, play guitar, piano, and ukulele.

Fun Fact: I have one thumb that is hitchhiker and another that is not. It is the strangest thing I know about myself.

Favorite Number, why?: My favorite number is 1 - it is the best! It represents being the best, it is the only whole number that is neither prime nor composite, and it is the most powerful tool for unit conversion/percentages.

Education: I graduated from Northridge High School in 2022. I am currently a Sophomore at the University of Utah studying Math Education and Educational Psychology.

Why I love Mathnasium: Mathnasium is by far the best job I’ve ever had! Its method has revolutionized the way math is taught in students lives. I love being able to watch kids grow and feel like they can accomplish something in math, instead of being intimidated by tough concepts. I am also excited to amplify my aspiring career in teaching mathematics!

Kai Cruz

I've taken Calculus and Statistics. I have participated in many sports teams growing up, and currently I am a member of the University of Utah Business Scholars! I enjoy anything regarding sports, video games and travel.

Fun Fact: One fun fact about me is I am very competitive and like to be challenged!

Favorite Number: 27, It has been my lucky number my whole life!

Education: I graduated from Farmington High and am currently attending the University of Utah studying Business!

Why I love Mathnasium: I like working at Mathnasium because I get to engage with, help, and see young minds grow!

Christian Wheeler

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from BYU, and to get this I took all the numerous math classes required for the math major. Right now I am studying Software Development at Davis Technical College and am on the National Technical Honors Society. While at BYU, I worked as a research assistant and a homework grader in the mathematics department. In High School I ran Cross Country, played Lacrosse and the trumpet in the High School Band. I enjoy running (cross country is probably my favorite sport). Sometimes I like reading books, it depends on the day and think that Marvel and DC are fun.

Fun Fact: For a personal project at school, I am making a chess game using the skills I have learned in the software development program.

Favorite Number: Pi, because it is funny.

Education: Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from BYU. I graduated in 2020. Now I am studying Software Development at Davis Technical College in Kaysville.

Why I love Mathnasium: Because I like math. I know not everyone (or most?) people do not like math, and I get that. When I was studying the higher up math classes that I took, the concepts started getting really weird and confusing, so I didn't like it as much. I think most people don't like math because they find it weird and confusing. If I can help them understand it just a little, they might hate math a little less, and see how it can improve their education, career prospects, and their lives.

Gyana Smith

Gyana has taken AP Calculus AB and is currently taking AP Statistics. She's participated in events hosted by the Society of Women Engineers and was able to learn and create amazing things, which was a small look into the things that engineers do every day. She's also taken many math classes that have helped her learn and grow her skills! She loves math, learning, art, movies, music, animals and creating new things!

Fun Fact: I love airplanes, rockets, and outer space, so I want to become an Aerospace Engineer so that I can create new ways for space exploration.

Favorite Number: 24 because 1(24)= 24, 2(12)= 24, 3(8)= 24, 4(6)=24, and (1)(2)(3)(4)=24. They all fit so evenly.

Education: I’m a senior at Farmington High School.

Why I love Mathnasium: I’m so excited for Mathnasium because I think math is one of the most important subjects for us to know, and I’d love to be able to teach kids about it and to help them learn to love it!

Cynthia Jackson

I am taking AP Calculus BC as a Junior and plan to take AP Statistics as a Senior. I love the performing arts. I participate in choir, musical theater, and dance in and outside of school. I also love taking the cooking, childcare, and healthcare CTE classes. I also participated in The Utah State HS Math Contest. My favorite thing to do is sing and act! I enjoy reading, the outdoors, listening to music, and spending time with my family. As well as puzzles, board games, and a good movie.

Fun Fact: I can predict the ending of most movies within the first 10-20 minutes and I am also surprisingly good at recognizing actors.

Favorite Number: 11 because 11:11 is the only time on the clock that all four digits are the same and when you multiply a single digit number by eleven it is just that number twice (11 x 2 = 22 and 11 x 9 = 99). It is also kind of my lucky number.

Education: I am currently attending Farmington High School and I am scheduled to graduate in 2024

Why I love Mathnasium: I love math and working with students. I want to go into teaching when I graduate High School. I love helping students believe in themselves! I also love teaching students to do things they didn't think they could and seeing the lightbulb moment when everything clicks.

Emily Olney

I have taken Secondary 1-3 math and AP Calculus BC. I played for my high school soccer team for 3 years and play club soccer for Avalanche. I also love hiking, boating, and reading.

Fun Fact: I have over 40 first cousins

Favorite Number: 8, it has been my soccer number for several years.

Education: I am currently a senior at Davis High School.

Why I love Mathnasium: I love working with kids and have always enjoyed math.

Terry Tilley

I have taken math through differential equations as requirements for engineering plus Matrix Theory as an elective. In High School, I was involved in: yearbook, newspaper, basketball, track and field, Boy’s State, and choir. I've been involved in Mining Engineering, and a management career and youth and civic groups as volunteer. I enjoy golf, reading, and running.

Fun Fact: I have lived in all four of the continental time zones of the USA.

Favorite Number: 7 because it’s a lucky number.

Education: B.S. Mining Engineering, University of Utah, 1975. MBA, University of Southern California, 2016.

Why I love Mathnasium: I enjoy working with the youngsters.

Ashley Peterson

I've taken AP Statistics as well as AP BC Calculus. I play lacrosse for Farmington and am the Debate President for Farmington. I qualified for the National Speech and Debate tournament my junior year of high school. I also participate in DECA. I absolutely love hiking and traveling. I spend most of my time hanging out with friends and being outside.

Fun Fact: I lived in Australia for two years.

Favorite Number: 16 because I like the way it looks.

Education: Farmington High School graduating class of 2024.

Why I love Mathnasium: I love helping others learn because learning is a huge passion of mine.

Luke Hasna

I am currently studying graduate topology and algebra as well as complex analysis at the University of Utah. I absolutely love the field of analysis, and I hope to write my thesis in it! Some of my favorite courses over the years have been Linear Algebra, Algebraic Number Theory, and Real Analysis II. I participated in Mu Alpha Theta for several years in high school. I also did dual enrollment with Stanford University Online High School for my junior and senior years in high school. There, I worked in a number theory-based math research club. I have tutored friends, classmates, and neighborhood kids in math and science for over five years before working at Mathnasium. Their levels vary between elementary school to high school to various undergraduate fields (pure math, physics, engineering, etc.) I enjoy playing a plethora of video games (Dark Souls, Counter-Strike, Noita, and more), going on camping trips with friends, and having deep conversations with people.

Fun Fact: When I was a kid, I collected all kinds of stuffed animal germ plushies. Each representing a different kind of microbe existing in the real world. They were adorable and quite informative!

Favorite Number: e aka. 2.7182818284590453… This number, given by the sum of 1/n! for n = 1,2,3,…, allows for the construction of the most important function in all of mathematics. This is e^z for complex numbers z. It carries the important property of being a “group homomorphism,” preserving the structure between the additive real numbers and the multiplicative real numbers. This is demonstrated in the identity: e^(z+w) = (e^z)(e^w). Among other things, the slope of e^z is itself, and its integral is itself too.

Education: I go to school at the University of Utah. I am a first year in graduate school stuyding pure mathematics. I graduated high school in 2022 with many dual enrollment credits, allowing me to finish my undergrad quickly.

Why I love Mathnasium: I love sharing my passion of math with other people! It is my goal to kindle similar passions in the youth through teaching!

Devin Montoya

A math class I've taken was Secondary Honors 2 which is one of my favorite classes I've ever taken; in that class, I was able to fully understand and grasp the math concepts at a deeper level. I have played tackle football from 8th-9th grade, I am in my schools Jazz band, and I'm a member of National Honors Society a group that stands on 4 key principles leadership, Service, Character and Scholarship. I also was invited to attended a youth leadership forum for medicine where we learned practical skills in situations for people like bandaging, carrying, and CPR also learned the medical pathways and ethics. I enjoy playing saxophone and relaxing and playing any game with my family, board games, sports, and video games are all fun for me to do with my family and going out with my friends.

Fun Fact: I am a fraternal twin but I like extremely similar to my twin and a lot of people think we are identical when we are actually just fraternal.

Favorite Number: 196, it is a very unique number no one else says is their favorite and also is the only number where you can't reverse it and eventually get a palindrome (A number that is the same forward and backwards) making it one of those numbers and its okay to be different from other numbers.

Education: I currently am attending Farmington High School where I am a Sophomore and I'll graduate by 2026. It is a really fun environment to be in everything is alive with color everywhere and everyone talking and socializing with each other and I would recommend anyone to go here as it has been rated one of the best schools in Utah as a whole.

Why I love Mathnasium: I like working at Mathnasium as it gives me a chance to teach something I am passionate about, Math. I want kids similar to me who seem to not get math to understand it and how there is just so much to it and one of the best subjects with how interesting it gets as you keep get to ask Why is something the way it is.

Reed Brown

Reed has always loved math and enjoys helping kids learn to love math and how to use math in their daily lives. Reed earned a BS of Electrical Engineering degree from Brigham Young University and a Masters of Business Administration degree at Boise State University. Reed has spent over 25 years as a successful engineering and operations executive at Hewlett Packard, Quantum, and Iomega. In 2004, he decided to test his entrepreneurial skills and created Matchbin (now Radiate Media), a successful internet software company. Over the last 10 years, Reed has been active in the Utah technology community. As a member of the Governor's Technology Initiative Advisory Board for the State of Utah, he has helped to grow funding for engineering programs at Utah Universities and Colleges. Reed and his team is committed to helping children grow their interest and confidence in math and prepare them for a successful college education and career in technology, business, finance, medical, manufacturing, science, biology, or other fields that require strong math skills.

Fun Fact: Decided to become an Electrical Engineer because of 8th grade shop project making a DC motor

Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from BYU and Masters of Business Administration degree from Boise State University

Kassidy Shumway

Kassidy Shumway grew up in Bountiful, Utah, and graduated from Brigham Young University in 2011. While at BYU, Kassidy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, was a TA in the math department, and also found time to be an All-American and a team captain and member of the BYU Women's Soccer Team. Kassidy has many years of experience coaching children of all ages in soccer. She has been helping students at Mathnasium since January 2013. Kassidy and her husband have two kids and two active dogs.

Fun Fact: Is in a video on YouTube with over 6 million views

Education: Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from BYU

Why I love Mathnasium: I love helping kids realize that math can be fun. The favorite part of my job is going into elementary schools and putting on Math Nights. Laughing and having fun with kids while we do math is so rewarding!