My Story
Behind every mathematician there is a story. Here is mine.
Originally born in Lawrence, Kansas, I spent a lot of my younger years growing up in Indianola, Iowa. I am the oldest of four girls and am very close with my family. We love being active together, Friday night pizza and movies, and teasing each other.
My sisters and I when we were just a little younger...
After graduating high school, I attended Central College in Pella, IA--home of the world famous Tulip Time Festival. In Central's community centric environment, I thrived. During my four years at Central, I was a part of the women's soccer team and Fellowship of Christian Athletes or FCA. One of my favorite experiences was working with Upward Bound all four of my summers at Central to encourage first generation high school students to pursue college. Academically, I studied Mathematics Secondary Education with the intention of being a high school mathematics teacher. I obtained significant experience in a local Pella High classroom as a member of the Central Teacher Academy.
Playing sports and being active brings me a lot of joy!
The Hungarian Parliament, one of the most well recognized buildings of Hungary.
In the spring of my sophomore year, I was blessed to be able to study abroad in Budapest, Hungary with the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Education Program and travel around Europe. I learned mathematics using the discovery based learning approach and also learned how to teach using this method. As I transitioned into my senior year, I began to realize that I was becoming more curious what I would find in higher mathematics. Knowing this, my mentors at Central encouraged me to pursue graduate studies in mathematics.
After I graduated from Central College in 2020, I began my doctoral studies in the Mathematics Department at the University of Iowa. In my second year I found my wonderful and patient advisor, Dr. Ryan Kinser, who has opened my eyes to all things quiver and representation theory. For two years I studied Topological Data Analysis, specifically stability within the context of persistent homology. Having wrapped up this project, I have focused my attentions on classifying the actions of Hopf algebras on the path algebra.
Celebrating the defense of my academic sibling and office mate, Dr. Cody Gilbert.
I also have served as the General Liaison for the Math Graduate Board for two year long terms, acting as an ambassador between graduate students and professors. One of my favorite part of my graduate studies has been being a Teaching Assistant for a variety of classes at Iowa. I was honored in May 2023 as an Outstanding TA at the University of Iowa. Find out more about my teaching experience on my teaching page!
My fellow 2022-2023 UIowa Outstanding TAs in Mathematics--we took home one-fifth of the awards.
One of my passions in education is building relationships with my students and building my students' confidence in their mathematical abilities. I encourage students to actively engage in the classroom and put them at the center of the learning experience. I believe every student has the ability to do mathematics and to reason in mathematical ways. It is my goal to help students understand math can be done in a variety of ways and embrace the way that works for them. All while having a little bit of fun and telling some bad dad jokes. :)
Outside of mathematics, I love to play soccer, walk, run, or hike, and am an avid watcher of sports--especially KU basketball. I have recently been attempting to improve my lack of hand eye coordination by playing pickleball and racquetball. I also love to be in the kitchen baking all sorts of things. Spending time with friends, and sharing goodies with them, is one of my favorite things to do! I am also extremely passionate about ranch!
Enjoying some KU basketball and being done with my first half marathon with family!
Please reach out to me at elise.askelsen@uiowa.edu if you'd like to talk about my story or for any other reason!