The Miss Mathematics 2022, Ange Miessan, dreams of becoming a “data scientist”. Mathematics, she explains, holds the key to Africa's development and changing mindsets.
Open to students from third to final year, the 2022 edition of the "Miss Mathematics" competition, organized by the Mathematical Society of Ivory Coast (SMCI), awarded on August 4, 2022, the crown to Ange Roxane Youémin Miessan, a 15-year-old girl from the terminale C class at the Alassane Ouattara high school of excellence in Grand Bassam.
This distinction entitles him to computer equipment and a scholarship to finance his studies. Now enrolled at the International University of Grand-Bassam (UIGB), the teenager dreams big and intends to be a beacon for young Africans in the mathematical sector.
On the eve of the start of the academic year, Ange Roxane Youémin Miessan agreed to share her motivations and her projects.
What are the reasons that prompted you to take part in the Miss Mathematics competition?
The first reason is my interest in mathematics. This is an area that I really like; a field in which I would later like to excel and make discoveries. This contest allows me to begin the realization of these objectives. Through this competition, I would like to test my knowledge and also deepen it.
The third reason stems from the encouragement of my teachers, friends and parents in order to be able to achieve my goals in the field of mathematics. It is truly a dream for me to be able to be recognized for my efforts and my recherches. And this competition allows me to prepare myself.
How do you explain this love for mathematics which is nevertheless deemed difficult as you say?
I like math because I like challenges. As we progressed through the classes, the math got more and more complicated. Everywhere I went, I always heard that it's complicated and that it's hard to get out of it. In the final year, it's really difficult to keep the same level as we had in the first cycle or in second. So, I had to find a way to understand this matter. It was a challenge for me to understand a dreaded subject of all.
As I studied, I realized that mathematics was a precise field and that with mathematics, reasoning must be logical. This is an area that calls for common sense and curiosity. And all these qualities are the ones I have and this is what motivated me to want to break into this dreaded field.
My teachers in the second cycle were also a source of inspiration for me. They gave me the love of mathematics and the desire to always know a little more. It is this knowledge that can make me happy.
What do you know about what mathematics can bring to the development of Africa?
For me, mathematics is capable of developing Africa insofar as it is from logical reasoning, theorems and discoveries that physicists manage to discover new things, that technology can come to life. It is with the algorithms in mathematics that we have powerful mobile phones and computers to be able to communicate everywhere in the world.
All these discoveries, all these advances, both technological and mechanical, happen thanks to mathematics. This area appears to be an engine of development for Africa. In my opinion, mathematics holds the key to the development of Africa and the change of mentalities. Mathematics calls for a spirit of logic, reflection and precision. All these virtues can contribute to the development of our continent.
What profession do you plan to embrace in the future?
The career that I want to embrace later is that of "data scientist" because it is a career that combines both computer science and mathematics. In addition, I would like to have a doctorate in mathematics which will allow me to acquire a lot of knowledge and to be able to do research for the advancement of my country and my continent.
What advice would you give to young African girls about mathematics?
The main piece of advice I would like to share with all young African girls is to dare. Daring to do what everyone dreads, daring to set goals that everyone finds unattainable. It is possible for us girls to be better at science, specifically math. This has been the case for several great women including Katherine Johnson[1].
I think that if some have been able to achieve such a level of global recognition, it means that we too can do great things. Africa needs brave men but also women capable of making sacrifices to develop certain areas that are so untapped in Africa.
I would like to tell everyone that math is not as complicated as we think. We have to have confidence in ourselves to be able to move forward.
[1] American mathematician (1918 – 2020) who worked notably at NASA, the American space agency.
This article was published on the French version of SciDev.net and is reproduced with their permission.