MNYMO for Girls

About the Initiative

This initiative was created in support of Advantage Testing Foundation's Math Prize for Girls to address the unique challenges faced by young girls in competition math and STEM. Throughout our team's involvement in participating and coaching mathematics, we’ve faced the obstacle of the gender gap. While we’ve already expanded accessibility to high-quality competition math instruction through MNYMO’s free camps and events, we recognized that girls often face added barriers—whether that’s being one of the only girls in a room, lacking female role models in math, or not knowing where to begin. MNYMO for Girls aims to create a space where girls can feel supported and excited to engage with mathematics and create their own communities.

Schedule

• 12:30–1:00 Competition Check-in
• 1:00–1:20 Opening Ceremony
• 1:30–2:10 Education Panel
• 2:20–3:00 Individual Round
• 3:05–4:05 Activities
• 4:10–4:40 Lightning Round
• 4:50–5:40 Dr. Shelley Dougherty Student Talk
• 5:40–6:00 Awards & Closing Ceremony

Format

• Individual Round: 40 minutes, 10 short-answer problems (MATHCOUNTS to lower-AIME level).
• Lightning Round: The top individuals will compete two-at-a-time in a double-elimination-style bracket tournament. For each match, a problem will be read and projected and the students will have 60 seconds to solve the problem. When a student has an answer ready, they may buzz in and answer and time is paused. If it is correct, they gain a point. If it is incorrect, time is resumed and the other student will have the remainder of the time to buzz in and answer. The first student to two points wins the match, and this process is repeated until a first-place winner is decided.
• Education Panel: Q&A with our team regarding our high school experiences in math and beyond.
• Activities: Arts and crafts (origami), games, and more!

Guest Speaker: Dr. Shelley Dougherty

Dr. Shelley Dougherty is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Mathematics and the Assistant Director of the Mathematics Center for Educational Programs at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. She earned her Ph.D. in Applied Algebraic Topology in 2019 from UMN, where she explored the complexity of robot motion planning and image processing algorithms through a topological lens. She double-majored in Mathematics and Computer Science at St. Lawrence University in New York in 2013, studying topics like the Banach–Tarski paradox and cryptographic algorithms. Dr. Dougherty is passionate about fostering enthusiasm for mathematics among students of all ages and backgrounds -- from teaching elementary school students about the mathematics of bubbles, to hosting mathematics competitions, to developing interactive digital calculus activities, and more. In her talk, she’ll share the experiences that shaped her career path, along with hands-on examples inspired by her research projects over the years. Although she tends to view the world through a mathematical lens, in her spare time she also enjoys running, knitting, baking, and spending time with her cat.