{"id":215761,"date":"2025-05-13T10:12:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T20:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=215761"},"modified":"2025-05-17T22:24:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T08:24:41","slug":"math-grad-credits-west-oahu-manoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/13\/math-grad-credits-west-oahu-manoa\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa math grad credits UH<\/abbr> West O\u02bbahu, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa for his success"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Tanner Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Tanner Johnson prepares to receive his master\u2019s degree in mathematics<\/a> from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa’s College of Natural Sciences<\/a> this spring, he\u2019s reflecting on an academic journey shaped by both UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> and UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa—and the support of faculty at each campus.<\/p>\n

Originally from Makakilo and a graduate of Kapolei High School, Johnson began his college education at UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> in 2016. He chose UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> to stay close to his family, and it was there that he found his path in mathematics.<\/p>\n

Meet more amazing UH<\/abbr> spring graduates<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

“I wasn\u2019t entirely sure what I would study when I started,” Johnson said. “But I\u2019ve always enjoyed academia, and math was something I was decent at. When I learned they were developing math degrees, it caught my attention.”<\/p>\n

Johnson double majored in humanities<\/a> and natural science<\/a> with concentrations in mathematics, earning both degrees in 2021 during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

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Johnson after defending his master’s thesis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From there, he went on to UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa to pursue a master\u2019s degree under the guidance of Associate Professor and Associate Chair Sarah Post. His thesis focused on the mathematical models related to particle spin in quantum mechanics—work that bridges mathematics and physics.<\/p>\n

“My project looked at how certain systems of math relate to the spin of particles, especially in quantum mechanics,” Johnson explained. “It\u2019s fascinating how math can model the ways particles interact and how their spin behaves.”<\/p>\n

Johnson successfully defended his thesis and will graduate on May 17.<\/p>\n

“It has been a pleasure to work with Tanner and to watch him develop his mathematical maturity,” Post said. “He has conquered challenging new topics and you can see his confidence grow, as was well evidenced in his MA<\/abbr> presentation. He has truly been a welcome presence around the department.”<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Johnson hopes to stay close to home and give back to the academic community. He\u2019s interested in pursuing a lecturer position and eventually supporting other Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> students on their own educational paths.<\/p>\n

“I want to help students see that math isn\u2019t just a box to check—it\u2019s something they can use and apply,” he said. “I\u2019ve been exploring ways to incorporate place-based learning, Hawaiian culture and pedagogy into math lessons.”<\/p>\n

His professors at both campuses say his story represents the best of what the UH<\/abbr> System can offer when campuses work in tandem.<\/p>\n

“I first met Tanner in fall 2019 when he was taking Math 245 Multivariable Calculus,” UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> Professor Esther Widiasih said. “His work ethics and consistency stood out throughout the following semesters when he took other courses with me. Tanner showed a great potential for teaching and mentoring his peers when he was helping me in being a peer leader in Math 245, only a year after he finished that course. I hope that after finishing his master\u2019s program, he can come back and teach at UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>. He will be a great example of a homegrown math instructor.”<\/p>\n

Widiasih said that while Johnson was at UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>, he worked with her on a summer research project adapting a dissolved oxygen model for the Mokauea fishpond, which later became the foundation of his capstone.<\/p>\n

Johnson encourages future students to lean on their communities and stay motivated.<\/p>\n

“Math is something that benefits from collaboration,” he said. “You need that self-drive, especially in graduate school, but you also need to be willing to ask for help—from peers, from professors. That sense of community is key.”<\/p>\n

He added, “I don\u2019t think I would\u2019ve succeeded without the relationships I built at both campuses.”<\/p>\n

—By Marc Arakaki<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johnson is interested in pursuing a lecturer position and eventually supporting other Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> students on their own educational paths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":215762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[308,234,1466,554,568,660,9,947,59],"class_list":["post-215761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-commencement","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-mathematics","tag-natural-science","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-system","tag-uh-west-oahu","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/manoa-math-tanner-johnson-grad.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215761"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216173,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215761\/revisions\/216173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}