Irene Naismith emigrated from Scotland, to Canada, to San Diego where she made her home with her family for more than 50 years.  In Scotland she left school at age 14, unable to continue her education to high school and university because the family could afford only one child to continue.  That spot was allocated to one of the males in the family.  Irene always regretted that she did not get to continue her studies.  She valued education highly, as she valued the neighborhood around Crawford High where she lived most of her life. 

Initiated in 2017, the $1000 Irene Naismith Mathematics Scholarship is awarded annually to a female high school student at Crawford High who demonstrates a sustained interest in mathematics and problem solving.  It is meant to encourage students to take more mathematics while they are studying at Crawford High.  A large perpetual plaque is displayed prominently at Crawford High with the winner’s name on it to commemorate the winner and to remind current students about the scholarship’s existence.

Crawford High School, San Diego, California

$1000 Scholarship and Commemorative Trophy

The recipient of the Irene Naismith Mathematics Award will demonstrate a sustained interest in mathematics and problem solving (investigating, conjecturing, predicting, analyzing, and verifying), that includes a well-reasoned presentation of results, as shown through coursework such as Advanced Placement Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and/or Statistics and participation in events such as the American Mathematics Contest 12, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, the UCSD San Diego Honors Mathematics Contest, the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, the California Math League, or similar.

The following tenets are considered fundamental to the award:

A committee from the Crawford High School Mathematics Department will select the Award recipient.

All recipients of the Irene Naismith Mathematics Scholarship are asked to reflect on and respond to the following prompt: 

Irene Naismith Mathematics Scholarship

Winner Questionnaire

 One of the goals of this scholarship is to encourage students to take more mathematics in high school with a view to raising the probability of success in university or in work subsequent to graduation.  As a winner of the award it would be helpful for students still in high school to hear about your experiences, both while you were attending classes in high school and as a first year university student or employed worker, and to give advice to current high school students.

Please reflect upon and address these prompts:

1.  As a high school student you involved yourself in many mathematics courses and activities – what were your reasons and inspirations for doing so?  How did you manage and integrate the coursework with other school and life activities?

2.  As a new university student or employed worker, how does your high school mathematics experience fit with and support the university or work environment?

3.  What advice would you give to current high school students that would help them increase their personal probability of success?