The Ohio State University

Even though he has a variety of academic interests, Tom LaPille says studying math has been an enormous help with his other pursuits. "I think that's the real value of math. It teaches you how to think extremely efficiently and that's a skill so few people have," he explains. "That's what sets someone with a lot of math background apart from someone who doesn't, it's very easy for a mathematical person to really figure out what the important parts of a problem are and to ignore the parts that aren't important."

LaPille started out at Ohio State majoring in math and has since added economics as a second major. Now in his third year, he is considering picking up Chinese as a minor. The variety of academic options is one of the reasons LaPille chose to attend Ohio State. Another is the support system he noticed during his campus visit. "I ended up coming here because I felt like I wouldn't get lost," he said. "I know it sounds kind of funny to say that with how big Ohio State is, but I felt like the support networks were there for me that I was going to get what I needed out of the experience."

A member of Radical Pi (the undergraduate math club) and the Undergraduate Economics Society, LaPille has done math research through the math department's VIGRE program. "It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot," he says. "It did teach me that pure math was probably not where I wanted to go, but I'm really glad I did it and I'm really glad Ohio State gave me the opportunity to work with people on the edges of all these fields because it really has helped me narrow down what I want to do."

While at Ohio State, LaPille's interests have shifted from theoretical mathematics to applying math to other fields. He says he's likely to pursue a graduate degree in finance with an eye toward working for a Wall Street firm or a bank. But wherever his future may lead, math will play a major role. "Math has been incredibly valuable and it forms how I think about everything I ever think about," he says. "Math teaches you to dig deep down into the beginning reasons of everything."

Advice for future students:
"I would suggest that people leave their options open as much as they reasonably can. Because if you think you know what you want to do with the rest of your life, you're probably wrong. Being in position to make changes and move in the direction you want to go is really helpful to a point. Be open to what you find in college because it should surprise you. There is so much here that you don't know exists."