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The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
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Easy as 1-2-3

Two students have revived an all too familiar club
Brooke Samson, Staff Reporter
March 31, 2025
Math Club has reached out to many students from varying grade levels. This club will continue to flourish with its growing popularity, although math isn’t loved by all, the captains make their club inclusive to many different members. It has also helped grow the love for math with the students who join. “I joined because I got referred by friends,” sophomore Alex Sanders said. “I like to hang out and interact with friends. They create new tasks/games/ ideas every time we come to class every day.”
Brooke Samson
Math Club has reached out to many students from varying grade levels. This club will continue to flourish with its growing popularity, although math isn’t loved by all, the captains make their club inclusive to many different members. It has also helped grow the love for math with the students who join. “I joined because I got referred by friends,” sophomore Alex Sanders said. “I like to hang out and interact with friends. They create new tasks/games/ ideas every time we come to class every day.”

Millard West is known for its many clubs and diverse school activities. However, freshman Rashmi Pokharel and sophomore Luke Murphy believed the school was lacking a certain club. On Jan. 28, 2025, they began their Math Club under the wing of math teacher Jennifer Myers.  

It may come as a shock that math has a fan base, but these hardcore supporters are the future engineers, mathematicians and economists of our world. In Math Club, the club leaders work to improve their members’ math ability while encouraging an interest in math. They do this through practice ACT questions and homework help.  

“I really enjoy learning math and I want to spread the passion for it,” co-captain Murphy said. “Now we are trying to gain as many group members as possible to help people learn to enjoy math.”

Not all Math Club members are little prodigies because this club isn’t just for those gifted in math. Pokharel and Murphy try to make the club as inclusive as they can to as many people as possible. This means the club participates in many activities at their meeting. 

“Mostly it’s math practice problems and tutoring for other students,” junior Lucas Askew said. “Twenty to twenty-five people attend meetings for like an hour.” 

Many students attend these meetings, and many of them are women. Often, women are scarce in the STEM community, resulting in a male-dominated culture. Co-captain Pokharel created this club with the understanding that math is a male-dominated field, however, this didn’t stop her from pursuing her club.

“My mom also had a great passion for math and got a bachelor’s in math back home in Asia and back in her time, she was saying how there were little women in her field,” co-captain PokhareI said. “I just want to create an inclusive open space for everybody to have the opportunities they need.”

These two students have worked tirelessly to advertise their new club and inspire others, proving that you don’t have to be the best at something to succeed. This club has opened the eyes of many other individuals to create clubs that reflect the interests they want to share with the school community. Math can be hard, but luckily, Millard West students have the power to make it easy. 

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About the Contributor
Brooke Samson
Brooke Samson, Staff Reporter
Brooke Samson is a sophomore at Millard West. This is her first year on staff for the CATalyst. She also participates in Forensics (Competitive Speech) and was a District Finalist. She enjoys reading and spending time with her family and friends in her free time. Samson is excited to begin writing for the CATalyst and meeting new people.