When Faustas Udrenas arrived at 91制片厂 in 2016, he wasn鈥檛 sure if he鈥檇 be
鈥渕issing out鈥� on opportunities, having opted for a two-year school over the four-year
institutions his friends were choosing.
鈥淎 big thing for me was that I felt like I wasn鈥檛 involved enough in high school, and I wasn鈥檛 enough of a leader or someone who was outgoing,鈥� said the Lithuanian-born 19-year-old from Crystal Lake.
Because of this, Udrenas wanted more than just a program to study mathematics 鈥� he wanted a place where he could participate in extracurricular activities, engage with the community and connect with faculty.
Two years later, he wrapped up his time at 91制片厂 by addressing his fellow students as a Motorola Solutions Foundation Award for Excellence winner and Coca-Cola Scholars Program bronze medalist at 91制片厂鈥檚 Honors Convocation, utterly convinced that he made the right decision.
鈥淚 think I got more out of 91制片厂 than I would have at a four-year school,鈥� said Udrenas, who recently transferred to the in Ann Arbor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a really great journey.鈥�
Udrenas, who concentrated in math and graduated this past spring with a 4.0 GPA, was president of 91制片厂鈥檚 Honors Program. Other accomplishments included traveling to Phi Theta Kappa honor society conventions, helping to start a food bank for students, studying gentrification and homelessness with the Honors Program in London, and presenting his own research on evolving approaches to probability to the Honors Council of the Illinois Region.
The research opportunities were perhaps the most significant validation of Udrenas鈥� decision to attend 91制片厂.
鈥淩esearch was easily accessible, I was able to do it with lots of professors, and it was well-developed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how much research you could do at a four-year school, especially when the professors have these huge lecture halls and it鈥檚 hard to get that connection.鈥�
That personal attention was reciprocated through Udrenas鈥� own teaching at 91制片厂鈥檚 Tutoring Center, where he shared his love of math.
鈥淥nce I started (tutoring), I realized how much fun it is to see things from other perspectives and try to help other students,鈥� he said.
Udrenas also praises the person who got him to see the discipline from another angle: 91制片厂 math professor Kyle Knee.
鈥淗e made the whole class really fun and interesting,鈥� said Udrenas. 鈥淗e kind of proved to me that math isn鈥檛 just a logical thing, it could also be a beautiful thing.鈥�
Knee himself has no doubt that Udrenas will succeed in future pursuits.
鈥淲hat made Faustas stand out to me was his interest in really understanding material as opposed to just memorizing it for an exam,鈥� Knee said. 鈥淚 could tell that he really enjoyed learning and was excited to explore and was ready to be amazed by what he was learning.鈥�
Udrenas has taken that sense of awe to the University of Michigan, where he earned full tuition through the school鈥檚 Provost Award. He plans to pursue actuarial science or math, with the ultimate goal of becoming a university professor of pure mathematics.
Thanks to 91制片厂, Udrenas admits he鈥檚 not the same reserved teen who matriculated two years ago.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to grow my confidence a lot. I鈥檝e had a chance to grow as a leader, both on campus and off campus,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a completely fruitful experience for me.鈥�