Often found working quietly in his office, Neil Waite describes himself as someone
who prefers to stay behind the scenes and out of the spotlight. However, as an assistant
professor of mathematics, he鈥檚 made a huge impression, positively impacting hundreds
of students during his 25-year career at 皇家华人. For Waite, he says the
best part of his job is helping students achieve that 鈥渁h ha!鈥� moment after working
through a difficult concept. When he isn鈥檛 teaching, assisting students, or serving
on campus committees, he enjoys spending time with family, playing piano, attending
church, going on walks, and lending a helping hand in the Powell community.
How was your own interest in math originally sparked? Did you know you wanted to be
a professor?
Well, from the time I was a young boy, I was always one of those kids who liked math.
It was something I did pretty well at, and numbers have always seemed to run around
in my head. But all the sudden, when I got up to the university level, I found that
I wasn鈥檛 as good at math as I originally thought. I wasn鈥檛 as smart as I thought I
was, and some of my classes were actually very difficult for me, but I think that鈥檚
made me a better teacher. I know what it鈥檚 like to be on the top-end of the class,
and I also know what it鈥檚 like to struggle and not get it.
I didn鈥檛 necessarily know that I wanted to be a professor. I started off as a math
major, and then I switched to engineering. Later, I decided I would like to teach
math, so I switched again. I bounced around a little bit, like a lot of students do.
Being a math teacher isn鈥檛 exactly something you鈥檇 typically see on the highlight
reel of the news, but it鈥檚 been a good job for me.
Do you have a favorite memory related to teaching?
I don鈥檛 know that I have one specific memory, but just when you have a chance to see
the light bulb click on鈥擨 like to think of it as wandering around in the dark until
they find the light bulb, and they have that 鈥渁h ha鈥� moment. When you can see that
they understand, that鈥檚 when it鈥檚 cool.
What do you enjoy in your free time?
Well, I don鈥檛 just do math, believe it or not. Right now, my wife and I like to go
walking. I play the piano a little bit. I also enjoy spending time with my family鈥攖hat鈥檚
an important part of my life. I also belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, and we do a lot of stuff with them.
Do you have any specific classes or projects you particularly look forward to throughout
the year?
I probably prefer the calculus and trig classes more, just because the students in
those courses are a little more math oriented and enjoy it. Everybody obviously doesn鈥檛
feel that way, though. You tend to get a wide reaction when it comes to math鈥攕ome
people say they love it, while others hate it, and you get a lot of 鈥渋n between.鈥�
Do you have any advice for those who are thinking about majoring in math?
Personally, I think math is great, and I鈥檝e always enjoyed it. It鈥檚 not necessarily
for everyone, though鈥攁 lot of people who are good at math don鈥檛 necessarily have to
go into math, but there are a lot of fields that use it. If you enjoy the subject,
and if you feel like you are successful at it, I think it鈥檚 a good direction to go.
For those who choose a path that does not include much math or science, I still think
that it is important for them to have a solid math background. I like to think of
this as 鈥渕athematical maturity.鈥� Even if one doesn鈥檛 ever use the quadratic formula
again after they complete their math training, they will have gained critical thinking
and problem-solving skills that they can use throughout their lives.