Liz Bouzarth

I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and went to Walt Disney World (WDW) regularly with my family between the ages of three and seventeen. After not visiting Disney World for over a decade, I returned as an adult on a family trip that included my six-year-old nephew. By this point, I had already graduated from Dickinson College with bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics and had earned my Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I studied applied mathematics. Returning to WDW after so much time has elapsed inspired me to discover what an interesting place it is for both adults and children. After making the realization that there is a lot at Disney World for adults to enjoy, I started noticing that there is a lot of mathematics, science, and technology that makes WDW run smoothly and efficiently while appearing effortless to guests. This realization I made as someone visiting Disney World for the first time as an adult was the seed that grew into this May Experience.

I am excited to get to spend three weeks immersed in educating students, learning from those around me, and experiencing various aspects of Walt Disney World. I am very thankful that I work at an institution that has an opportunity like this to do creative things with students that will be unique, engaging learning experiences for all people involved, myself included. As an applied mathematician and a Disney fan, I'm excited to mix these two interests. In addition to getting to create this course with amazing colleagues and work with fantastic students, Math and the Mouse is also quite special to me because I was on our 2016 program when I found out I officially was awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. (I've since also been promoted to the rank of Professor, but it didn't align with a Math and the Mouse year.) In 2016, our students surprised me with a wonderful, meaningful souvenir to commemorate my professional milestone. I was surprised and quite touched by their thoughtfulness and seeing this souvenir in my office serves as a daily reminder of how lucky I am to work with great people! I'm so excited to share the Math and the Mouse experience with the 2026 cohort!