Numbers, equations,  shapes and pain: This is what most people think of when they think of math, but not Ms Malm. She believes that math can be interpreted and applied in different ways to daily life, thus teaching the mathematics AI course in DP. 

For Ms Malm, STEM was always in her cards.  She never thought of doing anything else! It started in university, where she enrolled for an astrophysics bachelors. Of course, that’s different from mathematics, which is what she eventually ended up studying. After one semester learning math and physics, she decided that it just wasn’t in the stars to continue with astrophysics, as she enjoyed the math aspect far more. There it set her start to her journey to teaching math at SIS. 

In fact, teaching math always was in Ms Malm’s blood, with both her parents being math teachers; They had always been encouraging of her following a STEM path. “They were supportive no matter what I studied, as long as I stayed in school and kept studying”. Further, growing up in Sweden, a very progressive country, she reflected that she didn’t really have any issues with being a woman in STEM. “I don’t think there was anyone who discouraged me… There was a lot of awareness of women’s movements and women in STEM in the 80’s, especially with Sweden being the first country to introduce split parental leave”. 

No matter what one studies, there come challenges and problems in a student’s career. When asked what it was for her, she replied with “my holistic understanding of a concept… I’m really good with details, but I struggled with connecting points together”.  That goes to show that even experts in their field struggle sometimes and that you shouldn’t give up on something just because it is challenging! 

Lastly, we asked Ms Malm what accomplishments she feels most proud of, and her answer is what makes her such a loved teacher at SIS: “I think it’s when students feel that I make a difference”