Visiting Assistant Professor Jennifer E. Beineke clearly recalls the day she discovered the mathematical ability of Kimberly M. Stevens ’02, who was then a member of Beineke’s first-year seminar on graph theory.

It was still early in the semester, and Beineke had assigned an extra-credit problem. Since she hadn’t yet lectured on the proper construction of mathematical arguments, Beineke was expecting responses to the problem that were somewhat informal and unsophisticated. Kim Stevens provided something that stood out. Says Beineke, "She turned in a perfect proof. She just knew, inside of her, how to do the logical steps and communicate them concisely and perfectly. It jumped out at me that she was a terrific candidate to be a math major."

Something about that introduction to mathematics at Trinity jumped out at Kim Stevens, too. Coming from a high school where she was the only girl in her calculus class, Stevens says it was something of a revelation just to encounter a female mathematician. Stevens quickly took Beineke and the other female faculty members in mathematics as role models, but she also says that part of her motivation to be a math major was "the feeling that I needed to prove I could do it."

And prove it she has. Having earned the department’s First Prize for First-Year Mathematics, Stevens followed up last year with First Prize for Second-Year Mathematics. She has taken numerous upper-level mathematics courses and by the middle of this, her junior, year will have all but completed her requirements for the math major. While she enjoys long calculus problems and solving equations, she says, "the real satisfaction comes from completing an algebraic proof that you struggle with for days and even lose sleep over until finally, all of a sudden, it makes sense. Sometimes this happens a few times and you realize you were wrong, but there is no satisfaction quite like finally understanding and successfully completing a difficult proof."

A skillful communicator
Seabury Professor of Mathematics David A. Robbins teaches Stevens in his "Special Topics" course centered on wavelets, which represent the mathematics behind some data compression techniques. Robbins lauds her hardworking nature and "willingness to spend time on the task." He adds that Stevens "presents her mathematics" skillfully in her written work. "She can communicate high-level undergraduate math very well."

Stevens employs her communication skills equally adeptly beyond her academic assignments. As a math tutor and a mentor for the mathematics department’s first-year seminar two years in a row, Stevens is a friendly and approachable resource to other students. She often can be found helping out at the mathematics center even when she’s not scheduled to work, and she is more than willing to hold study sessions for the first-year students in her residence hall. "Sometimes people are afraid to ask questions," says Beineke. "Kim works to encourage self-confidence. She is an excellent mentor, not just for her first-year seminar students but also to anybody with a question." Director of the Mathematics Center Judith F. Moran says, "Kim Stevens is one of our master tutors." She notes that Stevens was chosen to be a sort of "math missionary," whose job is to make brief presentations, in a variety of mathematics classes, to explain the purpose of the math center and to invite students to come in for assistance.

A spiritual leader
Reaching out to other people is a big part of Kim Stevens’s identity. Since the age of 13, she has taken five trips through the "Youth with a Mission" religious organization to such countries as Mexico and the Philippines. As a trip participant and later a trip leader, Stevens has painted churches, helped build a home for a family, and performed religious outreach activities directed toward other young people. At her home church in Trumbull,CT, Stevens started a summer Bible study group for college students. At Trinity, Stevens’s faith-inspired activities include involvement in the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship group, in which she is a small-group Bible study leader.

Already personally focused on how religious activity can affect communities, Stevens felt fortunate that her job as a first-year mentor coincided with these interests. Her seminar, called "Radical Christian Poverty" and taught by Assistant Professor David Cruz-Uribe, examines the role of poverty in Christian thought and requires personal contact with the poor. Stevens is looking forward to spending time at the nearby Immaculate Conception Shelter, where her mentees will be working during the semester. While she knows there are many opportunities for community service around Hartford, she says, "I feel a greater calling at Trinity to get involved with Christians on campus."