Enjoy Math and Sports

I have served as an Academic Coach for students living at Seneca Heights Apartments which is a complex operated by the Montgomery County (Maryland) Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH) for four years. During this period, I have tutored twelve students ranging from Pre-K to Grade 10 and assisted four residents in preparing for their GED tests and another resident with college math.

Hands on

Winner of 9th Grade Algebra Competition in Newark N.J.

M.S., Computer Science, George Washington University, 1978 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Newark College of Engineering, 1968

Russ Smith first learned of the powerful connection between mathematics and sports when he won the Newark N.J. city wide 9th grade algebra competition. His victory came because he was able to correctly answer problems that others missed because of his interest in sports metrics such as batting average. He went on to complete high school with honors and then obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Computer Science. As a financial specialist supporting the Federal Government for many years, he developed automated tools and analyses to support agencies with billion dollar information technology budgets. Often when presenting the results of his work, he was able to draw examples and analogies from the world of sports to better explain complex financial concepts to his audience. Today, he does volunteer tutoring mainly in the area of mathematics. He is often gratified to see the light bulb go on when a student grasps a math concept because of the sports based example he has presented. How wonderful when a student who enjoys both math and sports starts to surface!