Riley McLachlan

Hello reader! My name is Riley McLachlan, and I call home Tyrone, Georgia, a small town just south of Atlanta. I’m a rising junior at Furman University, majoring in mathematics and history with a minor in WGSS. Outside the classroom, I work for the Center for Academic Success as a math tutor and serve as treasurer for APO, a co-ed service fraternity. During my freetime, I’m often found reading some mystery or fantasy while listening to my newest musical obsession. 

I absolutely adore math; its endless applications and open-ended problem solving excite me to no end, and I am always seeking opportunities to use and interact with it. Which is why from the moment I learned of Math and the Mouse fall of my freshman year, I knew I wanted to go. However, my love for math is just one of the reasons I was drawn to this program as this past summer, I conducted mathematical research on Magic Kingdom ride lines under the guidance of Dr. Bouzarth, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Hutson, the same three professors behind Math and the Mouse. They made my summer of research so positive and transformative, and I am glad to be learning from them once more in a brand new environment.

Though I have visited Disney before, it has been seven years since I last set foot in the park and this time around I’ll be understanding the theme park with an entirely different perspective, incorporating math and queue theory. I am especially excited to ride Spaceship Earth and Expedition Everest as those were my favorite rides when I was little, so it’ll be nostalgic revisiting them. Because much of our summer research was dedicated to modeling it, I’m also excited to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Though, strangely enough, the part I am most looking forward to is not the rides themselves, but rather their lines as I will be experiencing first hand the fruits of my research while waiting in line.

Math and the Mouse cannot come soon enough!