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Sarah Klingbeil, Class of 2022

Now: M.S. student in Statistics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria and Visiting Research Student, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 2024

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Sarah Klingbeil came to Southern planning to become a high school English teacher with a minor in math. When she couldn't find the math minor on her application, she applied as a double major in English and Mathematics instead. "I have not regretted it," she says. "I loved the combination and learned so many valuable lessons."

Sarah graduated in December 2022. The summer before, she took part in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Lafayette College, studying Bayesian breakpoint analysis in time series data. She and her team then presented their work at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Boston. "It was extremely applied, and I loved that your results could be used to solve real-world problems," she says. That experience made her want to go to graduate school in statistics.

After six months teaching English as a volunteer in Uruguay, Sarah began a master's degree in Statistics at Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria. In 2024 she was chosen as a visiting research student at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. There she worked on joint modeling to improve the analysis of cancer clinical trials and presented a poster at the KAUST Statistics Workshop. She is now finishing her degree with her master's thesis.

Mentors Who Believed in Her

Because the department is small, Sarah got to know every professor well. "All of them were mentors and really wanted the best for me," she says. "Their office doors were always open."

Dr. Heck was her advisor when she started. "I remember walking into his office feeling overwhelmed and a little out of place, and he said something along the lines of, 'You'll do great,'" Sarah recalls. "He believed I could do a degree in mathematics when I was still unsure, and that gave me a lot of confidence." He also hired her to tutor in one of his flipped-classroom courses. Later, Dr. Heck and Dr. Anderson wrote her REU recommendation letters. When she presented at the Joint Mathematics Meetings after graduating, Dr. Brown came to hear her talk and invited her to dinner with the Andrews University REU group.

Favorite Memories

Sarah remembers crowding into Dr. Anderson's office hours for help with Real Analysis and Abstract Algebra, and spending hours with classmates in the study room writing proofs on the chalkboards. "We studied together, laughed together, and encouraged each other," she says.

One memory stands out. In March 2020, just hours after students learned that COVID-19 was sending everyone home, Sarah's class sat down for a Calculus II exam. The room was buzzing. Dr. Anderson told the class the exam was still on, but first they should run up and down the stairs a few times. Long afterward, Sarah asked how the class had done. As a group, they had written one of the best exams she had seen.

Prepared for What Comes Next

"Statistics has a lot of mathematics involved," Sarah says. "I would have had a much harder time if I didn't have a mathematical background." Set Theory and Logic gave her a strong foundation in logical thinking. Abstract Algebra and Real Analysis taught her to keep going when she didn't understand something right away.

"I like to describe learning mathematics as learning a new language," she says. "It's hard, especially at the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, you can write beautiful sentences and express the world around you. As Galileo said, 'Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe.'"

Advice for Future Math Majors

  • Don't fear hard classes. "Don't be afraid to take hard classes because they might lower your GPA. Focus on learning." Sarah's one course regret is skipping Probability and Statistics, which would have prepared her for graduate-level probability theory. She also recommends taking as much programming as you can, since modern statistics relies heavily on languages like R.
  • Seek out research. Apply for REUs or work on a project with a professor. "This really gives you a good taste of graduate school."
  • Learn how you learn. Start reading research papers and textbooks, even if it takes several passes. "There will be classes in graduate school that you will have to teach yourself."
  • Know your why. Think about your goals and the kind of learning environment you want. If you're considering a Ph.D., focus less on a university's ranking and more on finding an advisor who is a good fit.
  • Use your professors. "Take advantage of the mentorship of the professors at Southern. They really care for you. Don't be afraid to ask for help."

Life Beyond the Classroom

Sarah enjoys the self-directed pace of graduate study and the work-life balance of living in Europe. Her advice to current students is to enjoy the journey: "Learn to embrace the moment and your current stage of life. The milestones will come." She adds that almost everyone feels like an imposter at some point. "You are not alone. This is actually a sign that you really are progressing."

In her free time, Sarah knits, a hobby full of binary patterns and numbers. "But to be perfectly honest," she admits, "I don't think too much about math when I'm doing it."