John Souther would agree - math can take you places. In his case, math helped take him from the wide-open skies of Wichita Falls, Texas to the historic halls of Harvard University and a giant financial holding company in Chicago. At 23, he is an internal consultant at Sears Holding Company and says, “My job is looking at numbers and making sure they add up right, gaining new insights from those figures. You have to have some math background to find meaning from the numbers.”

Does he agree that math is the new literacy in today’s global, technological world? Absolutely. “When you look at the areas where progress is being made, it’s because of math and science. That’s what pushes everything forward. If we want to find solutions to problems like pollution, if we want to continue to be a leader in technology and medicine, math and science are essential.”

He discovered as a student at Wichita Falls High School that taking math and science Advanced Placement Program* classes gave him an advantage in college coursework as well as the business world. “They definitely give you a higher level thinking experience than you would expect in a regular class. You have to take the initiative and focus extra hard on the academics, but then you can use those critical thinking skills anywhere in life. You definitely develop skills that you need for the future.”

Thanks to the AP Strategies training and incentive program, John received the financial help to pay for the AP tests. “I could not have paid for all 12 of those tests. The cost is cheaper than taking the actual course in college, but while I was still in high school, it would have been hard to pay for all of them.” He helped his family at their family music store, selling musical instruments and music books, and still made time to volunteer for the Meals on Wheels and food bank programs in Wichita Falls, as well as track and football.

By the time he graduated, Souther had passed a dozen AP courses and was ranked first in his class. He recommends the AP courses without hesitation: “I would say based on my experience that if you are unsure it’s going to be too much work, you should know the teachers are always going to be there for you. They want to see you succeed. The training and tutoring help you understand the test as well as the material and that gives you an advantage. It is definitely something you should try.”

The incentive program should reassure would-be AP students, he said, because if the students are unsure of themselves, it helps to have the school say, “We believe in you and we are going to pay for this test to make sure you get this opportunity.”

“The message is that the school is confident in the students and confident in the work the AP teachers do. The AP teachers are all amazing people. I will also remember my AP teachers as great influences on my life – they are incredible,” he says.

When Souther left Wichita Falls to attend Harvard, he had a full academic scholarship, but his mother worried that Cambridge, Massachusetts was a long way from home – after all, John had never spent time outside of Wichita County before. But he thrived at Harvard and graduated on time in 2007, partly because his AP training helped him pass more advanced classes in college. He’s now weighing whether to pursue his original goal of a career in medicine or go to graduate business school instead. Either way, he’s grateful to have a strong foundation in math.

“We need to do more to push people to engage in math while they are in school,” he recommends. “While some students may shy away from math because they think it will be too difficult, math actually takes the hardness out of the work. You always have a right and wrong answer. It is very black and white. That can be fun – and it is definitely useful, something that will help you the rest of your life.”

*AP, Advanced Placement Program and SAT are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.