Five facts about Pamela E. Harris, Mexican-American mathematician and educator of “leaders of character”

Pamela Harris works on the theorem of Zeckendorf...

...Her family laid the foundation for her success  Harris is Mexican-American: her family emigrated from Mexico twice, first to California, then to Wisconsin when Harris was 12 years old. Harris grew up undocumented in the US, always nervous about her immigration status. Although she loved school, she was unable to apply to a four-year university without a Social Security number. But her parents encouraged her to get as much education as possible, so she enrolled in her local community college. Harris earned two associate’s degrees in just two and a half years, all with a 4.0 GPA. She later married a US citizen, which changed her immigration status. She was excited to continue her education, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and a PhD in mathematics...