Rebecca Bowers is a teaching fellow in the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science department, a house counselor in Johnson Hall, and an assistant coach for Nordic Skiing and Distance Track. Before joining Andover in 2024, Bowers was a teaching assistant and tutor at Brown University, participating in undergraduate research on wildfire prediction systems. In her free time, Bowers enjoys playing the violin, tennis, walking, and listening to music.
What initially drew you to teaching and coaching at Andover?
I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do after graduating, but I had always loved high school math. It sounded really fun, and after I came and visited for a day, I definitely wanted to come here. The Nordic team also drew me [to Andover]. One of my favorite memories [as an assistant coach for Nordic Skiing] was definitely the home race that we hosted. It was super fun to host the race, and there was a bunch of music, and a bunch of people came out. It was really exciting because I feel like Nordic doesn’t always get that recognition.
What’s special about coaching and teaching at the same time?
The students here and the faculty really care about the extracurriculars they’re involved in, whether it’s art or sports. You can find so many connections and community with your students, [such as] showing up at their games or coming to their performances, and that’s something that I didn’t expect. Also, I get to know faculty outside of the math department, and it’s really easy to bond with students over a shared interest in a sport or activity. Even though I love math, not all students share my enthusiasm for it, so it’s nice to participate in something where everyone is excited about skiing, running, or cycling.
When you were at Brown University, you were also a teaching assistant and tutor. How do you think these experiences shaped your perspective on math and teaching?
[My] experience as a teaching assistant [at Brown University] in particular helped a lot with helping students one-on-one in a conference setting. Being a teaching assistant was a lot of understanding what wasn’t clicking for one student.
You were in the Brown University Orchestra. What instrument did you play and what was your favorite part of being in the orchestra?
I played the violin in the orchestra at Brown. It was a lovely escape from all the other college stuff that was going on, twice a week to just go to rehearsal and play music with a bunch of other people who also love to play music. We got to perform the Bruch Violin Concerto my senior year, so that was really cool. It was a really wonderful opportunity to disconnect, be present, and enjoy some beautiful music with others.
What’s your favorite band?
My favorite band is Vampire Weekend. I started listening to them when I was in middle school, mostly because my brother listened to them and I thought his music taste was super cool. A lot of my musical favorites I’ve stolen from my brother.
What areas are you passionate about, and why are you passionate about them?
Our world is in a very data-driven phase right now, which I think is great in a lot of ways, and really interesting. Especially with AI, I was doing my research right before a bunch of large-language models came out. I’m interested and hopeful about this idea of, in the context of climate change, being able to predict events. There’s a lot of opportunity there to prevent really serious climate events, rather than just responding to them.
You were involved with undergraduate research on wildfire prediction systems. Why did you focus on these areas, and what was the most fascinating part of the process?
I went through a phase in college where I was really interested in environmental science, but I still wanted to study math, so the research was sort of a way to blend my interest in environmental science with my math education. I was interested in wildfires in particular because I’m from Colorado, which is a very wildfire-prone area, and there was a lab that was already doing wildfire research. [The most fascinating part was] the degree to which some people are such experts in that field, and they know so much about this very specific thing, about this one tiny wildfire prediction system. Research can seem so specific and niche at times, and there’s so much of it, which I think was kind of mind-blowing to me.
What do you enjoy about being a house counselor?
I really love living with students, or just being in the dorm. It’s kind of similar to what I was talking about with different personalities and classes. Dorms also have different personalities. Teaching fellows are usually younger, so we add another dimension to the dorm team that might not be there. We’re a different type of adult that students can connect with. I have a really specific role in the dorm in that way. Another thing I enjoy about house counseling is getting to see students in a more relaxed setting. There’s a completely different side to students that comes out in the dorm that I don’t get to see in class. Also, students in the dorm are really funny. I’m laughing all the time while I’m on duty.
How do you adapt your teaching method based on the class?
I think [my] teaching method doesn’t change as much based on level as it does, but it does based on the vibe of the class. Some of my classes are really talkative and outgoing and want to collaborate a lot, and some other classes like to work on their own a little bit more. It’s just really based on the personality of the class that I differentiate my teaching… [When teaching], I try to begin by referencing as much background material as possible to remind the students what they already know and where this new math is coming from, and really break it down into the different components.
If you could teach a totally random class at Andover not related to math, what would you teach and why?
I would teach a racket sports class, and we would just play a different racket sport every week like pickleball, tennis, squash, padel, badminton, or ping pong. There are so many of them, and I want to play them all, but never have enough time.
