Sam Pearson

Hi! My name is Sam Pearson and I am a freshman Physics major. I am from Homewood, Alabama and I have lived in the Birmingham area my whole life. I wanted to participate in Math and the Mouse because I love math and I love theme parks, so this program is right up my alley! I have always been curious about how they determine the wait times and how many people they let into the parks. When it comes to theme parks, I am always trying to get to the next ride, so I am excited to learn what the fastest path there actually looks like. 

I love learning about the behind the scenes of places like Disney World. I am excited to learn about the different role's math plays in the everyday functioning of the Disney Parks. At this point I feel like I don’t even know what there is that I don’t know about Disney World, but I am excited to learn! 

Furthermore, I am excited to make some friends and explore the parks. The rides I am most excited for are Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, and It’s a Small World. I love the thrill of rollercoasters, but I am also a very sentimental person and the song “It’s a Small World” has a certain level of nostalgia for me. I am also looking forward to playing the game Liars Dice with my peers. I love board games and card games. Liars Dice is neither, but it is fun for similar reasons involving strategy and the game has a fun probability aspect to it. I played liars dice before with my high school physics class, and it will be fun to get to play it again.  

My favorite Disney characters are Olaf, Timone, Edna, Genie, and Tow Mator. They are all funny people and truly good friends. My favorite princesses are Belle, Tiana, Elsa, and Jasmine and my favorite villains are Maleficent and Captain Hook. People have mixed opinions on the live action remakes of some of the original Disney movies, but I love the complexities added to Belle and Jasmine’s charters in the live action versions. I also loved the music that was added. 

Overall, I’m most excited for the friendships and memories I will make this May! See you soon Mickey!!