Photo of Rachel Rummel
Program Coordinator, MATHCOUNTS Foundation
LA ’17
She/Her
Rachel Rummel believes today’s youth will change the world. In her role as Program Coordinator for the MATHCOUNTS Foundation, an education nonprofit that provides resources and offers programming to students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, Rummel witnesses hundreds of students display their love for mathematics each year.
“Working as a 1st grade and preschool teacher, I witnessed first-hand how math is oftentimes, sadly, intimidating to kids – especially young girls,” recounted Rummel. “At MATHCOUNTS, our mission is to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving, for both students who love math and students who fear math.”
In Rummel’s role, she gets to see thousands of kids put their best foot forward in the organization’s Competition Series. The Competition Series is a bee-style math competition that hosts over 25,000 student participants in each year. There are four competition levels: school, chapter, state, and nationals.
“I’ve worked for MATHCOUNTS for almost three years now, but due to COVID, our programs were moved online for the past two program years,” explained Rummel. “This May, I experienced my first in-person national competition, and it was incredible. To see the 220 national competitors together for the first time was powerful, and a testament to the hard work of our students, teachers, volunteers, and staff.”
Rummel is no stranger to providing youth with tools to succeed. As an undergraduate, she served as the Executive Director of Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE), a Newcomb-sponsored organization.
“Newcomb and Tulane provided me with invaluable opportunities to gain experience in the fields I am interested in, to learn from some of the most impactful and accomplished problem-solvers and academics, and to question and fight against oppressive systems,” expressed Rummel.
Rummel is continuing her education, pursuing a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in social and education policy at George Washington University. In the future, she hopes to utilize her expertise in policy work, helping to formulate inclusive, intersectional, and equitable social and education policies.