Karen Anderson

Karen Anderson has been a Computer Science Instructor at Normandale Community College for 36 years. Being the Principal Investigator for the NSF PRISM grant has been her privilege and honor. She enjoys leading the program for high-achieving STEM scholars with unmet financial need. Karen’s goals as a teacher are to encourage, inspire and challenge her students in a nurturing, comfortable, and engaging environment. Her hope is that her students learn to use critical and creative thinking skills throughout analytical problem-solving. Recently Karen was on sabbatical taking art classes, researching, and creating projects with the theme: “Math is Beautiful.” The Fibonacci Sequence, Sierpinski Triangle, Koch Snowflake, pi, and prime numbers are examples of art projects she focused on to visualize complex math concepts. Courses she took included glass fusing, stained glass, watercolor, acrylics, and 2D/3D design. Karen completed her Master’s in CSCI (emphasis in Artificial Intelligence) at UMN-Twin Cities and her Bachelor’s in CSCI at UMN-Duluth. As a grief camp counselor for 15 years, she is motivated to compassionately support families during the difficult time of a loved one’s death. Karen’s passions include traveling, hiking, biking, photography and especially paddleboarding the beautiful lakes and rivers of Minnesota.