Hello, my name is Briana Williams and I am from Fayetteville, North Carolina. I am a Freshman at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I am pursing Bachelors in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry. The love of mathematics has been deeply rooted in my heart for as long as I can remember.

I started my journey of research in mathematics at a young age. I was first given the opportunity to take part in mathematics research at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Mathematics and Science (UROMS) at Fayetteville State University. The program consisted of working with assigned mentors that assisted in developing a research project. Over the course of the research experience I gained knowledge of Maple Software, how to present correctly in a professional manner, and Applications of Geometric Transformations to Cryptography.

In the summer of 2013, I attended the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program (LSAMP) at Elizabeth City State University. The research consisted proving Charles's Law and Avogadro's Law through a series of experiments and analyzing the data. After proving the two Gas Laws, it was important to figure out how the two have a relationship with Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and how it works. Implementing Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would allow Elizabeth City State University to reduce the carbon footprint (the amount of Carbon dioxide that an individual or organization emits into the atmosphere) of the school. This is when it was clear that I would love to undertake the study of Mathematics.

As an incoming Freshman, I was accepted into the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) program directed by Dr. Linda Bailey Hayden. Through CERSER I will be given the chance to gain knowledge of certain skills such as: Linux operating systems, internship opportunities in mathematics, and also leadership. Taking advantage of these skills sets I plan to continue pursing my Bachelors in Mathematics and obtain my Ph.D. in Mathematics. By receiving this knowledge I would like to conduct research with the United States Government analyzing equations that describe how fast tumors grow, how quickly cancer cells develop resistance to therapy, and how often they spread to other organs. By taking such a quantitative approach, I may be able to create drug combinations that are far more effective than the ones now in use. I have set my goals. I plan to conquer, obtain, and achieve.