Attention all math whizzes: free money is waiting for you.

The college has six awards available for math students this year, two of which are simply awaiting qualified students to apply. The other four require no application.

Winners will be notified by the Math Division at the end of the semester.

The two scholarships, one titled the Die Hard Award the other titled the Daytona 500 both have an application deadline of May 28.

“[These] scholarships and awards are our way of encouraging students to continue with their college education and rewarding their efforts,” said Carol Paxton, math professor and math scholarship committee member.

Most of these awards and scholarships – including the Lillie, Parker, Collins and Enfiadjian — are funded by memorial endowments through the college foundation.

Ella Lillie, Dierdre Collins, and Rafael Enfiadjian were math professors at the college, and Gary Parker was dean of admissions and records. All of these former faculty members have passed away and the school is commemorating them with these awards.

The qualifications for the Die Hard Award include the completion of either Math 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 108 or 110 while also starting the math sequence Math 145 by the Spring 2010 semester. Students will be awarded $100 if chosen.

The Daytona 500 award of $100 will be given to the student (or students) who completes the greatest number of self-paced units in the 2009-2010 academic year.

Quirky names like the “Die Hard Award” and “Lobster Newburg” were all decided by the Math Scholarship Committee at the time the awards were created. Members found the names most fit depending on the description of the awards.

“This year, we had a very good pool from which to select awardees,” said Paxton.

The Lobster Newburg award will grant selected students completing Math 105, 107 and 108 by Spring 2010 with $100. The Elementary School Teaching Award will divide $200 among chosen students who receive an “A” letter grade in two of the following classes at the end of the spring 2010 semester: Math 135, 138 or 139.

The Beginning Algebra Common Final Award will break up $200 into three prizes of $100, $60 and $40 for the three students who receive the top three scores of the Spring Math 141/Math 146 Common Final Exam.

The final award to be given is the Intermediate Algebra Common Final Award.

This award will be divided just as the Beginning Algebra Common Final Award, among three students who receive the top scores on the spring 2010 Math 101/Math 120 Common Final Exam.

Students who are interested in applying for the Die Hard award should see Irina Shumakova in SG324 before May 28. Students who feel they qualify for the Dayton 500 should go to the Math Discovery Center in AS103.

For more information students can call Shumakova at (818) 240-1000 X5657 or email her at [email protected].