By Lamesha Green (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Carle Ax Photo by: Melissa Boyd/Whetstone

Senior Carlé Ax’s goal is to make math more interesting to children.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher ever since I was little,” Ax said. “I think what I loved the most about teachers back then was writing on the white boards. Now my reason behind wanting to become a teacher is that I love seeing the looks on kids’ faces when they learn something new.”
Unlike some of her former high school teachers, Ax wants to create a new way to teach math in the classroom.
“I don’t want to be considered a mean or boring math teacher like some of my teachers were back in high school,” Ax said. “I want to make my students experience in math class fun so they will have no choice but to learn.”
Three years ago, Ax chose Wesley.
“Volleyball is the main reason I came to Wesley,” Ax said. “I was offered a scholarship to play volleyball that was just too good to turn down.”
Ax also said she wanted to get away from her home town, Lewiston, Idaho.
“Another reason I wanted to attend Wesley is because I wanted to see the other side of the country,” she said.
Ax finds no difficulty in maintaining her 4.0 GPA, while doing a lot of activities, and having a social life.
“I’ve always been independent and when I graduated from high school I moved towards Independence,” Ax said. “Basically I depend on myself with little assistance from my parents.”
Ax plans to graduate this May.
“I came into Wesley as a second semester freshman,” she said. “In high school, I took AP and college courses that gave me college credits allowing me to graduate early.”
Ax says the best way to graduate on time is to get to know your adviser.
“Having a close relationship with my adviser helped me a lot,” she said. “If you build a close relationship with your advisor it can help you stay on track rather than the confusion of picking your classes on your own.”
Although she switched her major three times, Ax still remains on track.
“Here at Wesley I switched my major three times,” Ax said. “First, I was Elementary education, then I went into secondary math education, and now I am just a straight-out math major. So even though I switched my major three times I took 17-18 credits a semester, allowing me graduate in three years.”
Ax is proud of her choice to attend Wesley.
“I like Wesley because it’s small,” she said. “I know everyone in the math department as far as all the professors and students, and I formed a good relationship with them. With the Wesley community being such a small net, it has given me a better opportunity to form a lot of long-lasting relationships.”
Ax’s on campus activities include playing for the volleyball team, being a member of the Alpha Chi national honor society, and an ARC math tutor.
“I really enjoy being a math tutor in the ARC,” Ax said. “The best part of this job is teaching math hands on to students, which gives me that hands on experience I can later use when I start teaching children.”
Ax’s tutoring benefits students understanding math.
“Carlé is an awesome math tutor,” said senior Raven Nowell. “She gives you that one on one help to better understand the difficulties you may struggle with in math.”
Being homesick is not an option.
“What keeps me from being really homesick is my friends,”Ax said. “Some of my friends invite me to come home with them during the holidays, which are really the time I miss my family the most.”
Ax’s roommate, junior Rachel Sprague, sees potential in Ax’s future career.
“Carlé is a very loyal friend,” she said. “We’ve been best friends since our freshmen year she is someone that you can always count on.”
Sprague also said Ax is the most kind-hearted and hardworking person she has met at Wesley thus far.
Senior Trevor Kling said Ax has been putting her all into everything she does since they have stared dating over a year ago.
“Carlé makes her academics a priority and always demonstrates great work ethic in completing her studies,” Kling said. “Carlé strives to be the best in all that she does and always finds a way to do it. She is truly a fantastic person and deserves everything she achieves.”
Kling also said Ax puts a tremendous amount of effort into volleyball and is a pleasure to watch play.
Following graduation in May, Ax wants to get her master’s degree.
“When I graduate I plan to get my master’s degree in secondary math,” Ax said. “Some schools I applied to were UD, Duquesne University, Coastal Carolina, Lewis and Clark in Portland, Oregon.“
She plans on starting graduate school this June.