Anna Magnuszewska hails from Białystok, where she graduated from the Second High School, having followed a mathematics and physics curriculum. It was where, through her own work and the commitment as well as the guidance from her teachers, she graduated with grades that granted her admission to most universities in the country. She chose Lodz University of Technology to pursue her dream degree program. Mathematics was one of Anna's favorite subjects at school, but the program she had opted for, which was partly in the arts, offered to explore only a minor aspect of academic level maths. Indeed, that was one of the reasons why she took an interest in the tutoring program proposed on a long-term basis (3 terms) under the project targeted at high-ability high-achieving students of TUL called 'Masters of Didactics - implementation of the tutoring model'. Anna worked under the guidance of dr inż. Gertruda Gwóźdź-Łukawska of the Center for Teaching Mathematics and Physics.
The project allowed me to meet an extraordinarily kind mentor and a wonderful teacher in one',
Anna Magnuszewska says of dr inż. Gwóźdź-Łukawska, who has been tutor for quite some time now, and who introduced her tutee to the world of unconventional mathematical problems, while at the same time leaving Anna space for and encouraging Anna to further her artistic pursuits and to combine her musical interests with the Queen of Sciences in an interesting way.
'Tutoring enabled me to advance in mathematics under the guidance of an experienced tutor, where I was given the opportunity to joyfully experience and integrate all of my passions rather than strictly follow the academic curriculum,' adds Ms. Anna.
Participation in the project "Masters of didactics-implementation of the tutoring model," which aimed to provide long-term support for the academic potential of young people studying at TUL inspired Anna Magnuszewska to take on a number of demanding challenges.
Dr inż. Gertruda Gwóźdź-Łukawska convinced me to speak at the 5th edition of the 'MathUp' Applications of Mathematics Conference, an event organized by students for younger students at the Faculty of Electrotechnical, Electronics, Computer and Control Engineering. It proved to be a formidable yet a very rewarding challenge, even though I thought my chosen topic was too trivial and flawed, if only because it did not involve me presenting at least a few differential equations or integrals. So winning the Dean's Award came as a great honor and a highly motivating recognition of my efforts. You often hear people say that the most enjoyable people to listen to are those who talk about their passions. I do hope then, that what transpired from my presentation was my love for both music and mathematics', the student shared with us.
With the support of her Master of Didactics, Anna had the opportunity to participate in many other projects, including the 'e-Close' international academic cooperation project coordinated by CWM TUL, funded from the ERASMUS+ program. Taking part in it afforded Anna Magnuszewska the opportunity for personal growth and improvement of her social and foreign language skills through interactions with partners from universities in Spain, Germany and Portugal.
Anna Magnuszewska serves as an example that the time spent studying at Lodz University of Technology may turn out to be a formative stage in life brimful of opportunities. 'All you need to do is take them', the student summed up.
Based on my personal experience, I want to encourage my younger, older, and future fellow students to try to expand their perspectives and explore new avenues. I urge you to take advantage of all of what the university offers, not just the student discounts, and not to worry about failures and setbacks, but rather allow yourself to make mistakes, because each experience adds to your personal advancement.