Countdown to Commencement: Monique Howe

Monique Howe, '26 MA Mathematics, isn't one to back down when things get hard.

In elementary school, when her mom took on three jobs just to make ends meet, Howe became the second parent for her three younger siblings. She prepared their meals, helped out with homework and got them to bed each night.

When Howe was 15, and able to start working, she took a job at a local pizza place in her hometown of Morgan Hill while attending high school. Doing so alleviated things for her mom, who was able to pull back from working so many jobs.

"All the money I made went straight to my mom to help pay the bills and keep us housed," says Howe.

When it was time to start looking at colleges, Howe understood the reality of the situation: Since her family struggled to stay afloat month-to-month, she'd have to look at affordable options that were in close proximity to her family's home. Fortunately, she received seven different scholarships - one of which came from South County Cal-SOAP for her dedication in taking care of her family while going to school.

Another scholarship was from the organization Making Waves , which also provided Howe with a team of advisors that would help her to navigate the beginning of her college experience.

In 2020, during the chaos of the pandemic, Howe graduated from high school and started her journey at San José State.

A passion for math

Now, six years later, Howe is a graduate student on the verge of receiving her master's degree in mathematics. Throughout her college experience, she has continued working to support her mom and siblings.

During her undergrad, she worked full-time at another pizza restaurant while also taking classes. When she started her graduate program, she quit the restaurant job and started working 20 hours a week as a teaching assistant. She currently teaches the full maximum load, which includes two sections of math, along with a support class.

"I've always loved math. It just came so easy to me," says Howe. "When I was growing up, I saw math as a fun hobby. Just like someone might love doing puzzles or crocheting. I always looked at math as this fun game that I get to play."

Howe is one of two women in her master's program, which has a few dozen students.

"In the MA math program, I'm the only woman of color," says Howe, who is of Latina heritage.

She has had students come up to her and tell her how much it means to them to have someone who looks like her, teaching in the classroom.

"I've had someone come up to me, crying and telling me it's so nice to have someone teaching, who can understand certain cultural aspects," says Howe. "Because in Mexican culture, being in this program - these are things that people might not usually do."

Unfortunately, she has also experienced the opposite.

"Seeing a woman of color in this position could be difficult for some people to accept," says Howe. "I've actually had someone jump in surprise, feet off the ground, when they saw that I was the one teaching."

Last summer, Howe got accepted into a highly-selective graduate student program at the Simons Laufer Mathematical Science Institute in Berkeley. There, she held her own, working on complex math problems with students from some of the top doctoral programs across the country.

"It was the most fun I've ever had," says Howe. "Being there, it was amazing, knowing this is what I love and this is what I want to continue doing in my future."

Howe recently discovered that she got accepted into the PhD program at UC Santa Cruz, and will be starting there this fall.

"Monique is a truly exceptional student of mathematics. Many mathematics students share her traits of persistence, careful calculation and abstraction. Monique stands out for her dedication to the social nature of the discipline: her smile lights up a room, just before she ropes the entire room into offering perspectives on a difficult problem," says Edgar Bering, assistant professor in SJSU's Department of Mathematics and Statistics. "It has been my pleasure to be her thesis advisor, and I'm excited to see her career as a mathematician grow as she heads to UC Santa Cruz for a doctorate."

Howe is the first in her family to get a bachelor's degree - and will be the first to also have a master's degree and a PhD. Her mom, who used to pick cantaloupe in the fields of Firebaugh in Fresno County, was the first woman in the family to graduate high school; and her mom's mom was the first woman to graduate middle school.

"My siblings and I are also the first generation that never had to go and pick in the fields," says Howe. "Growing up in poverty, taking all that responsibility early on to take care of my family, and then being able to go to college has been such a journey. I feel so proud being here, so proud to show my siblings that we can all go beyond where our family has been so far."