Jason Chew

Name:  Jason Chew

College:  Graduate

Department: Education

What Award/ Scholarship did you receive? I received the Richard and Cindy Morley Award.

What year do you expect to graduate? Mid-July 2021

Where do you call home? Home for me is Santa Cruz, California. I was born and raised in Santa Cruz, CA.

With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out? UC Santa Cruz is close to home, and I found that my interests and desires were to stay local and invest in my home community.

What is your field of focus? I consider my field of focus to be math teaching and education.

What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz? I hope to begin a long-standing career as a math teacher serving the Santa Cruz community. I hope to join teacher communities and establish strong relationships with the families and youth of Santa Cruz county.

What is one memorable moment that stands out for you as a student here? My most memorable moment at UC Santa Cruz was when I was an undergraduate student, taking a rigorous upper division course called “Abstract Algebra” in my junior year. This was a memorable time for me, as I came to embrace the importance of learning over earning good grades. My professor, teaching assistants in the course, as well as peers who took the course with me continually reminded me that learning and effort are the prerequisite skills that earn a good grade; learning comes before getting an A.

What is your one piece of advice for incoming students about life at UC Santa Cruz? I would say to incoming students to take advantage of the resources around them. I believe that students’ educational experiences at UC Santa Cruz vary based on how individual students take advantage of their professors’ and TAs’ office hours, free-tutoring services, and support from academic advisors. The cliché I would offer to incoming students is: help is always available to those who ask for it.

How will this scholarship impact your academic life /research? This scholarship will greatly support me as a new secondary school teacher, providing funds to cover classroom expenses and attend professional development conferences. Investing in professional development, in particular, will be important as I begin my career as a high school mathematics teacher come this August.