Math Today, a Millionaire Tomorrow
Saturday, September 12th, 2026, at Franklin Square Public Library, Franklin Square, 11:00 am EST
Join us for an interactive mathematics lesson exploring how simple choices about saving and investing can shape someone’s financial future.
This lesson is adapted from Becoming a Millionaire, a summer course taught through Brown University. Lily created the course with a simple mission: Why would a future historian, writer, or artist ever need algebra? Taxes, investing, and retirement! Middle school students are also at an age when they begin earning and spending money through allowances, chores, and part time jobs, making this a meaningful context for developing lifelong skills.
In August 2026, Lily was selected as a finalist for the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) Rosenthal Prize for Innovation and Inspiration in Math Teaching. Her finalist lesson, A Tale of Twins, invites middle school students to compare two different approaches to saving and investing: one twin saves and invests just $3 per day starting at age 15, while the other begins investing at age 40, contributing 10 times as much each day and five times as much over a lifetime. (If you know the answer, please don’t tell the students!) Students will use mathematics to determine which twin ultimately accumulates more wealth by retirement and WHY.
Lily is a mathematics faculty member at Hofstra University and a PhD candidate in applied mathematics at Stony Brook University. She earned her master’s degree from Harvard University and her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.
RSVP here: Becoming a Millionaire Lecture for Middle School Students