{"id":27,"date":"2026-04-17T16:30:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanjac.myseniorfocus.org\/summer-2026-volume-7-issue-2\/math-professor-rewrites-the-equation\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T20:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T20:56:37","slug":"math-professor-rewrites-the-equation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanjac.myseniorfocus.org\/summer-2026-volume-7-issue-2\/math-professor-rewrites-the-equation\/","title":{"rendered":"Math professor rewrites the equation"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s your real major?\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sharon Sledge blinked. Then the university department chair leveled another zinger: \u201cWe don\u2019t have female engineers.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1970s, that conversation was enough to redirect a career. Sledge pivoted from engineering to math, a field she loved just as much. Although the equation changed, the calling didn\u2019t.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, for more than four decades at San Jacinto College, Sledge has focused on one constant: helping students discover what they can achieve.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"RoboticFrom industry to instruction<\/span><\/h3>\n

Sledge\u2019s route to San Jac started in industry.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

After earning a master\u2019s degree in applied mathematics, Sledge joined a Houston electric company, bidding jobs, reading blueprints, and helping design fire systems for Shell. She even turned down a job offer from the CIA.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite equal or stronger skills than her male peers, she was earning a much lower paycheck. The imbalance frustrated \u2014 and motivated \u2014 her.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat seemed devastating at the moment put me on the track where I needed to go,\u201d she said.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Recalculating, Sledge switched to the classroom. After teaching full time at Pasadena High School and part time at San Jac, she became a full-time math professor at the Central Campus in 1981.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Her teaching style involves showing the process, then throwing students into the water to swim on their own. If they\u2019re truly sinking, she tosses them a life preserver.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a firm believer your math teacher makes or breaks you,\u201d she said. \u201cIf people don\u2019t like math, they can usually give you the name of a teacher who was responsible.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Formulas into futures<\/span><\/h3>\n

At San Jac, Sledge has served as a professor, department chair, and division chair of science and math. Now she\u2019s back in the classroom.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In every role, she has advocated for practical tools: tutoring labs, graphing calculators, and courses that connect numbers to real life.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat adult doesn\u2019t use a calculator?\u201d she said. \u201cIf I go to work, I use tools. Engineers use tools.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Sledge teaches pre-calculus, calculus, and a math literacy course for non-STEM majors who need to learn loan interest and logic rather than derivatives and integrals.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like math to fit in with the life you want to live,\u201d she said.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Her classroom culture is simple: \u201cIt\u2019s OK if you don\u2019t know it, but it\u2019s not OK not to ask.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Her office door stays open. Some students never cross the threshold, while others walk in unsure and walk out more confident.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Years later, the results compound. One former student now teaches Advanced Placement calculus. Another, nearly a dropout, recently earned a Ph.D. in physics.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would never have finished a bachelor\u2019s degree without you,\u201d he told her.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Multiplying impact<\/span><\/h3>\n

Beyond calculus, Sledge helps run the Central Campus robotics lab, a bright workspace with 3D printers, CNC routers, and double-wide tables for teamwork.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sledge\u2019s robotics work stretches back nearly 25 years, when she led a grant that brought middle school teachers nationwide to NASA to create STEM lessons around Lego robots.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

That connection led to a partnership with U.S. FIRST Robotics, which moved its Houston-area Tech Challenge to San Jac. Since 2004, Sledge has coordinated competitions, trained coaches and students, and opened the robotics lab to roughly 170 regional middle and high school teams.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to this home training, local teams have excelled internationally. In 2025, four local teams ranked in the world\u2019s top 10 during play season, with two finishing in the top four overall.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sledge also coordinates summer robotics camps, giving kids a chance to build, fail, and try again.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe knowledge is so important, but the confidence it brings \u2026 that\u2019s the most important thing,\u201d she said.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Calculated legacy<\/span><\/h3>\n

Celebrating her 45th year at San Jac, Sledge still finds energy in teaching young STEM students and those returning to college after decades.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLearning new things is the most exciting part of life,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s learning how to take something you know and do something else with it.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

For someone who solves complex calculations, it\u2019s the simplest that stumps her.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be 74 this year,\u201d Sledge said. \u201cI have to really calculate my age.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Summer Fun<\/span><\/h2>\n

Got grandkids or other youngsters who need to beat boredom this summer?
\nLearn more about <\/b>San Jac\u2019s summer camps<\/span><\/a>.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

By Courtney Morris<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s your real major?\u201d Sharon Sledge blinked. Then the university department chair leveled another zinger: \u201cWe don\u2019t have female engineers.\u201d In the 1970s, that conversation was enough to redirect a career. Sledge pivoted from engineering to math, a field she loved just as much. Although the equation changed, the calling didn\u2019t. Now, for more than… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,1],"tags":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-math-and-science","category-stem","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMath professor rewrites the equation - Summer 2026, Volume 7 \u2013 Issue 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanjac.myseniorfocus.org\/summer-2026-volume-7-issue-2\/math-professor-rewrites-the-equation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Math professor rewrites the equation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What\u2019s your real major?\u201d Sharon Sledge blinked. Then the university department chair leveled another zinger: \u201cWe don\u2019t have female engineers.\u201d In the 1970s, that conversation was enough to redirect a career. Sledge pivoted from engineering to math, a field she loved just as much. Although the equation changed, the calling didn\u2019t. 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