ayesha delpish

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5 // e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders PHOTO BY ASHLEY BARNAS Ayesha Delpish, Assistant Professor of mathematics, proudly pulls out an Elon University graduation announcement from one of her students who came to her classroom thinking he wanted nothing to do with math. “I had him his freshman year, first semester,” Delpish said. “He came up to me and he was like, ‘I’m not good at math, I’m not good at anything.’” On May 22, 2010, this student graduated Cum Laude with a history major and statistics minor. “I wanted to be a teacher because I saw the opportunity to touch students, to somehow or other affect students,” Delpish said. When she was a teenager, Delpish also “couldn’t get math.” “It took a teacher who paid attention for me to get it all of a sudden,” she said. “It just takes somebody to believe in you.” When she was 17, Delpish came to the United States from Trinidad. She attended Mount St. Mary’s University for three years and earned bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and math. Delpish then went to Florida State University for her master’s degree and Ph.D. in statistics. As a first-generation college student, she is the only person in her family with a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. “I always believed that there was more,” she said. “Because I pushed myself so hard, I always tend to be very hard on myself.” Delpish’s love of teaching began when she worked as a teaching assistant at Florida State. She wanted to become an actuary, but it felt so natural to be at the front of a classroom that she decided to teach. The hunt began for the perfect school, and she was hooked on Elon after seeing a bridal shower thrown for one of the male faculty members. Students were in attendance, and the sense of community she wanted in a school was present at that party. Delpish credits her biggest accomplishment at Elon as the creation of the statistics minor and major. She created all the courses for the minor, as well as organizing the syllabus, objectives and books. “Dr. Delpish has been the driving force behind the recent statistics major and minor,” Associate Professor of mathematics Alan Russell said. “These programs would normally be a professor’s crowning achievement, but I am sure she sees her greatest work in the students she has mentored. She routinely builds the confidence of students and opens their minds to possibilities of graduate studies.” Besides creating the statistics program, Delpish has revolutionized the International Pavilion (IP) as a Learning Community. When she moved into the IP as the faculty-in-residence, there was a major focus on living rather than learning, Delpish said. “I always tried to say, ‘Well, can we make this academic?’” Delpish said. She implemented a minimum GPA requirement, had students sign a contract about participating in pavilion activities, created a syllabus and built a system of committees to give her students a sense of ownership. “I have very fond memories of being in the IP – just coming home, walking through,” Delpish said. “It was just a really, really, really good experience.” As a self-proclaimed extreme introvert, “it took a lot for me to interact,” she said. “[It was] really hard having the courage to knock on someone’s door.” But Delpish became the mother of the IP and lived there for three and a half years. “My time in the IP pushed me beyond my comfort zone to a point where it really helped me in my social interactions,” she said. Through the on-campus activities, celebrating birthdays and trips off campus to places like Hendersonville, NC and Washington, D.C., Delpish became a mentor and friend to her residents. “If you spend time with Ayesha, you are going to want to spend more time with her,” Russell said. “Her attitude and commitment to academic challenge raise the level of everyone around her and make her a true Elon leader.” The most important characteristic of a leader is accessibility, Delpish said. “People who I consider to be good leaders, they’re good listeners,” she said. “And they do what is in the best interest of whatever the organization is.” Delpish said she is a big fan of Pope John Paul II because he led by great example. “He had an opinion, but he never took sides,” she said. “He was very humble. I just think he carried himself with a level of dignity that I think to me personified a godly person. It was not about politics or whatever it was, it was just about God.” Her grandmother is another example of a great leader, she said. In Trinidad, the matriarch rules society, and Delpish said her grandmother ruled her family of seven children and 27 grandchildren with an iron fist. “Even though she passed on a few years ago, we still keep with us the things, the values that she instilled,” Delpish said. “She modeled good behavior.” “Ayesha is a blessing,” Russell said. “Her focus is squarely on students, but she brings a shine to everything she does. She uplifts students, colleagues and the entire university through her service and classroom practices.” Story By Ashley Barnas OUTSIDE THE STANDARD DEVIATION

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5 // e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders PHOTO BY ASHLEY BARNAS GET TO KNOW Ayesha Delpish Arrived at Elon in 2005 Hometown: Trinidad Words she lives by: “Past failures do not nullify future successes.” e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders // 6 PHOTO BY JUSTINE SCHULERUD

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Page 1: Ayesha Delpish

5 // � e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders

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Ayesha Delpish, Assistant Professor of mathematics, proudly pulls out an Elon University graduation announcement from one of her students who came to her classroom thinking he wanted nothing to do with math.

“I had him his freshman year, fi rst semester,” Delpish said. “He came up to me and he was like, ‘I’m not good at math, I’m not good at anything.’”

On May 22, 2010, this student graduated Cum Laude with a history major and statistics minor.

“I wanted to be a teacher because I saw the opportunity to touch students, to somehow or other affect students,” Delpish said.

When she was a teenager, Delpish also “couldn’t get math.” “It took a teacher who paid attention for me to get it all of a sudden,” she

said. “It just takes somebody to believe in you.”When she was 17, Delpish came to the United States from Trinidad. She

attended Mount St. Mary’s University for three years and earned bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and math. Delpish then went to Florida State University for her master’s degree and Ph.D. in statistics. As a fi rst-generation college student, she is the only person in her family with a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.

“I always believed that there was more,” she said. “Because I pushed myself so hard, I always tend to be very hard on myself.”

Delpish’s love of teaching began when she worked as a teaching assistant at Florida State. She wanted to become an actuary, but it felt so natural to be at the front of a classroom that she decided to teach. The hunt began for the perfect school, and she was hooked on Elon after seeing a bridal shower thrown for one of the male faculty members. Students were in attendance, and the sense of community she wanted in a school was present at that party.

Delpish credits her biggest accomplishment at Elon as the creation of the statistics minor and major. She created all the courses for the minor, as well as organizing the syllabus, objectives and books.

“Dr. Delpish has been the driving force behind the recent statistics major and minor,” Associate Professor of mathematics Alan Russell said. “These programs would normally be a professor’s crowning achievement, but I am sure she sees her greatest work in the students she has mentored. She routinely builds the confi dence of students and opens their minds to possibilities of graduate studies.”

Besides creating the statistics program, Delpish has revolutionized the International Pavilion (IP) as a Learning Community. When she moved into the IP as the faculty-in-residence, there was a major focus on living rather than

learning, Delpish said. “I always tried to say, ‘Well, can we make this academic?’” Delpish said.She implemented a minimum GPA requirement, had students sign a contract

about participating in pavilion activities, created a syllabus and built a system of committees to give her students a sense of ownership.

“I have very fond memories of being in the IP – just coming home, walking through,” Delpish said. “It was just a really, really, really good experience.”

As a self-proclaimed extreme introvert, “it took a lot for me to interact,” she said. “[It was] really hard having the courage to knock on someone’s door.”

But Delpish became the mother of the IP and lived there for three and a half years.

“My time in the IP pushed me beyond my comfort zone to a point where it really helped me in my social interactions,” she said.

Through the on-campus activities, celebrating birthdays and trips off campus to places like Hendersonville, NC and Washington, D.C., Delpish became a mentor and friend to her residents.

“If you spend time with Ayesha, you are going to want to spend more time with her,” Russell said. “Her attitude and commitment to academic challenge raise the level of everyone around her and make her a true Elon leader.”

The most important characteristic of a leader is accessibility, Delpish said. “People who I consider to be good leaders, they’re good listeners,” she

said. “And they do what is in the best interest of whatever the organization is.”

Delpish said she is a big fan of Pope John Paul II because he led by great example.

“He had an opinion, but he never took sides,” she said. “He was very humble. I just think he carried himself with a level of dignity that I think to me personifi ed a godly person. It was not about politics or whatever it was, it was just about God.”

Her grandmother is another example of a great leader, she said. In Trinidad, the matriarch rules society, and Delpish said her grandmother ruled her family of seven children and 27 grandchildren with an iron fi st.

“Even though she passed on a few years ago, we still keep with us the things, the values that she instilled,” Delpish said. “She modeled good behavior.”

“Ayesha is a blessing,” Russell said. “Her focus is squarely on students, but she brings a shine to everything she does. She uplifts students, colleagues and the entire university through her service and classroom practices.”

Story By Ashley Barnas

OUTSIDE THE STANDARD DEVIATION

Page 2: Ayesha Delpish

� e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders // 6

Ayesha Delpish

PHOTO BY JUSTINE SCHULERUD

GET TO KNOWAyesha Delpish

Arrived at Elon in 2005

Hometown: Trinidad

Words she lives by: “Past failures do not nullify future successes.”