Math Competition Launches a Career

Tarrant County College Foundation has a rich history of funding Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-related studies, as evidenced by the Foundation’s Bolen Math Competition, which has awarded scholarships to TCC students since 1989.

The Bolen Math Competition spotlights TCC students who compete in the national Student Mathematics League competition. Top TCC competitors who are graduating have the opportunity to receive scholarships to area universities, while first-year top competitors may earn Foundation scholarships at TCC. 

Since 1989, more than 1,000 TCC students have competed in the national math competition that involves more than 8,000 community college math students at 165 colleges in 35 states. Former Fort Worth Mayor Bob Bolen worked tirelessly to help endow the Bolen Math program in honor of his brother Jim, who initiated TCC’s participation in the competition. Bolen continued his support of the program even after his lifetime through a bequest in his will to the TCC Foundation. The Bolen Math program receives strong support from the Miles Foundation, XTO Energy and many individual donors. 

“The Miles Foundation recognizes the critical role of STEM education in readying the next generation workforce, and we honor our founder’s legacy as a geologist through investments in these programs,” said Sara Redington, communications director of The Miles Foundation.

A past Bolen Math competitor, Jared Hoag, credits TCC for starting him on a life-changing academic journey that would lead him to Texas Christian University (TCU) for his bachelor’s degree and Dartmouth University for his master’s and doctoral work. His memories of TCC go back a long way. He watched his mother act in plays there when he was three years old. His brother started taking art classes there when Hoag was 14. At the age of 17, Hoag enrolled at Tarrant County Junior College as an art major. He remembers later voting for the name change to Tarrant County College.

A fellow student said his artwork seemed very mathematical in nature and asked Hoag if he had considered majoring in math instead. Interested in computer animation, Hoag spent a semester as a computer science major before transitioning into math.

In a chemistry class at the Northeast campus, a girl sitting next to Hoag said he should consider working in the math lab at the Northeast campus. He went to the lab, and they hired him on the spot.

“That job ended up being my first W-2 job and was my foot in the door. I met interesting people and gained valuable professional and personal experience,” Hoag said. “I treasure those memories.”

While taking math classes at the Northeast Campus, Hoag developed a friendship with instructor Douglas Smith. “He was my college algebra instructor and was easily one of the best I ever had—at TCC, TCU, Dartmouth or University of Arizona,” Hoag said. “He had an obvious passion for mathematics and it showed. It was very motivating.

“He told me about the Bolen Math Competition and encouraged me to participate. I did, and it exposed me to a whole world of competitive mathematics that I barely knew existed,” Hoag said.

At the Bolen awards ceremony, Hoag met the chairman of the Mathematics Department at TCU, Robert Doran, who asked Hoag if he had considered attending TCU. Hoag had not. Doran got Hoag into TCU past the official deadlines and procured scholarships and grants for him. From TCU, Hoag went to Dartmouth where he earned a master’s degree and has completed most of his doctoral work.

“TCC changed my life for the better, dramatically,” Hoag said. “It's a very valuable and high-quality institution for college students in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and basically cannot be beat in price–performance terms. The professors are the same caliber as at leading universities. I believe that many people who spend their first two years at four-year universities are wasting their money. They should consider the opportunity to explore their academic interests in the low-pressure, low-cost, high-quality environment that is TCC.”