Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Cottage Grove

Christopher Nguyen

Christopher is an exemplary student at East Ridge High School and is making great strides in his math progress while attending the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP). Chris has a 34 on the ACT in April 2023 with a 36 on the Math portion. Chris graduated UMTYMP in May 2023 and is heading to the University of Minnesota Twins Cities to study Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Pre-Medicine in the Fall of 2024. Chris works well with students of all ages and loves to teach all scholars how to think critically and independently.

Ainsley Hoover

Ainsley is currently a student at East Ridge High School and dual-enrolled at the University of Minnesota. She has taken extensive rigor through her high school career, getting the highest score of a 5 in advanced placement courses such as AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC. Ainsley has received the AP Scholar with Distinction award for her academic achievements. While at the University of Minnesota, she took Multivariable Calculus where she received a 100% in the class. She is involved at East Ridge as a member of the National Honors Society and a Tri-M Music Honor Society’s board member. In her free time, Ainsley is a highly-skilled oboist who is first-chair in her high school music ensembles and was a member of All-State Orchestra.

Jamy Randrup

Jamy is a student at Park High School, where she is a full International Baccalaureate Diploma student. Her rigorous coursework and determination to succeed have equipped her to excel in her IB Math Analysis and Approaches Higher Level course this year, and her AP Calculus AB course last year, scoring a perfect five on the AP exam. Jamy also received a perfect 36 on her ACT and holds a GPA of 4.4. She is involved with many extracurricular activities, including being the president of her school's drama club, secretary of National Honor Society, and concertmaster of the school's philharmonic and chamber orchestras. She also takes private piano and voice lessons, sings in the school's audition chamber choir, and performs leading roles in the school's theatrical performances. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and reading good books. Jamy loves working at Mathnasium because it allows her to build lasting connections with each student, meeting each with kindness, patience, and respect. She enjoys finding new, creative ways to explain challenging mathematical concepts, and working closely with each student to help them succeed in reaching their full potential. Jamy believes that learning math is like riding a bike - it's hard for everyone at first, but with hard work and practice (and a lot of mistakes), anyone can succeed!

Gavin Mallat

Gavin is a Senior at Park High School. He enjoys helping people with math and doing math himself. In his free time he plays Lacrosse for Park High School.

Kai Nguyen

Kai Nguyen is currently a student at Mounds Park Academy. There, he excels in math, and in extracurriculars as well. Kai is currently a Varsity member of the MPA speech team, and a singer/actor in theater. When not reading over his speech book and theater scripts, Kai can be found practicing his flute, playing video games, or most of all, spending time with his friends. Working at Mathnasium, Kai discovered his ability to teach and help students understand their work, whilst simultaneously overcoming his social phobia rooted in social anxiety. As an instructor, he encourages students to nurture their mathematical abilities, and enjoys seeing them grow and improve their understanding.

Foster Sprunger

Foster is a student at East Ridge High School and enjoys taking Pre-Calculus and challenging honors courses. He joined Mathnasium because of his love for math and interest in teaching others. Foster is on two mountain bike racing teams and the high school alpine ski team. He is also active on the Student Council.

Andrew Martindale

Andrew is a student at Hill-Murray School. He excels in STEM classes and enjoys serving as a mentor to other students of all ages. In his free time, he enjoys learning piano and guitar and spending time with friends. Andrew is looking forward to studying medicine in college.

Brynna Henningfeld

Brynna joins the Mathnasium instruction tearm after attending Mathnasium for more than four years as a student. Brynna plays Volleyball for East Ridge High School and Northern Lights. Brynna is one of the most favorite Mathnasium instructor among elementary school students.

Summer Ibrahim

Summer joins the Mathnasium instruction team after attending Mathnasium as a student for three years. She is strong in Algebra 1 and Geometry. Summer enjoys spending her time at Mathnasium helping kids to become stronger in particular areas of math that they may struggle in. She also tutors 6th graders in the morning during advisory at school, and even helps her younger siblings with their work as well. Along with that, she was the captain of her school’s volleyball team during the season. Overall, Summer enjoys spending time with others and helping them learn along the way!