The right equation

Recent Oakland graduate Emily Smeu didn’t win the College of Arts and Sciences’ Meritorious Achievement Award because of her time management skills. But they certainly played a role.

Smeu majored in math and her time management skills allowed her to earn her bachelor’s degree in Math with a minor in business analytics and Spanish, while also being the president of the Mathematics Student Society and vice president of UNICEF Oakland University, working an internship at The Schaeffler Group and working on a research project titled, "Space-Time Mesh Generation with Local Time Adaptivity.”

“When I wake up every morning, I'm always thinking about how much time it's going to take me to do each task on my schedule, and mapping it out logically from there so I guess there is a correlation between being a math major and time management,” Smeu said with a laugh. “I’m always thinking, ‘I have this amount of time blocked for this and if I finish then I’ll have time for another thing.’ I’m always busy, but I make it work.”

The Meritorious Achievement Award is the highest honor for a student in the College of Arts and Sciences and the winners speak at commencement. Smeu recently spoke at Oakland’s spring 2025 commencement ceremony.

She said when she got to Oakland she hoped for the best, but she never imagined she would one day be addressing her fellow graduates at commencement.

“It's kind of unexpected,” said Smeu, who maintained a 4.0 grade point average at Oakland. “When I was in high school, I never would have thought I would be the person speaking at commencement. But I think it’s just a testimony to all the growth I’ve had while at Oakland. Being involved in leadership roles and some of the other things I’ve done. But I didn’t really expect it. Sometimes I still can’t believe it.”

Logical decision

Emily Smeu majored in Math with a minor in Spanish and a minor in business analytics.

Smeu consulted her mother when she was deciding on her major at Oakland. Smeu’s mother encouraged her to pick a degree that gave her a wide variety of career options.

She ultimately decided to pursue math because she was “always good at it” and it gives her career flexibility.

“I'm a very logical kind of person so math is right up my alley,” Smeu said. “The logic and theory that comes with it is something that I thrive in. It’s been hard, but I definitely don’t regret choosing math. I think it was the right path for me and challenging myself was a good thing.”

Smeu was a member of the Honors College, a Presidential Scholar and maintained a 4.0 grade point average. She was awarded the Louis R. Bragg Graduating Senior award by the Math department and she also won first prize for Spanish Prose, Short Prose and Poetry from the Department of Modern Languages and Literature.

Smeu did an independent research project with Associate Professor of Math Tamás Horváth titled, “Space-Time Mesh Generation with Local Time Adaptivity.”

“Emily is one of the most focused, highly motivated, intelligent, hard-working, and capable mathematics students that I have come across at Oakland,” said Professor of Mathematics and Chair Anna Maria Spagnuolo. “She worked under the direction of one of our best applied mathematical researchers, Associate Professor Tamás Horváth. Their impressive research project involves developing computational methods to accurately and efficiently simulate physical processes, such as heat transfer and air flow.”

Horváth said he enjoyed working with Smeu, and her math skills continued to impress him during the process.

“She showed remarkable independence and dedication,” Horváth said. “She read a couple of articles on space-time mesh generating and managed to grasp some concepts that would put her on the same level as a second or third-year graduate student. She has shown great potential and academic independence, which I have not seen in any other undergraduate student; moreover, I have not seen it in too many graduate students either.

“The most amazing part of the independent study is seeing Emily's interest in learning. For example, after one theoretical class, she said that she had really enjoyed that material, as it gave her a better understanding of partial differential equations. I must admit, her enthusiasm is very contagious. She is a hard-working student who is enthusiastic, independent and simply extraordinary.”

Smeu said she really enjoyed working with all of her professors at OU and was able to build strong relationships with many of them.

“Many of my professors felt like friends half the time, and that seems weird to say, but it’s true,” Smeu said. “I felt like I could go to any of them to ask for advice or guidance on what I should do next, and they were always so genuine. I don't like to keep things super serious all the time. It was nice to be able to open up to my professors and talk about myself. I got to know them and they got to know me. I think it brought the best out of me. I’m graduating, but I feel like I can still keep in touch with them or reach out if I need advice.”

Spagnuolo said Smeu’s math skills combined with her willingness to help other students made her a huge asset to the math department.

“Emily is an academic superior outlier,” Spagnuolo said. “She not only consistently earns top scores on all assessments, but she has also developed critical thinking skills at the highest level. She can solve the most difficult problems in mathematics. Emily speaks the language of mathematics like an expert mathematician. I have observed Emily in many contexts regarding mathematical course work.

“She not only excels with the highest scores on all challenging assessments, but she also takes every opportunity to present solutions for extra credit. And, even when she has maxed out on extra credit, she still presents for the benefit of her classmates. She does so beautifully and perfectly; Emily’s delicate and detailed presentations are always outstanding. In fact, they are presentations that I would expect from a mathematical colleague. And, she has a great student following too, as she is very helpful and encouraging to others. Specifically, Emily has helped students who were struggling in mathematics courses succeed in them. It is wonderful to see her impact on others.”

Beyond the classroom

Horváth said the Mathematics Student Society was nearly abandoned in 2023 when he began recruiting students. He asked Smeu if she would be interested and she jumped at the opportunity.

Smeu served as the society’s vice president the first year and then was the president for the 2024-25 school year.

“The Math Student Society was basically dead,” Smeu said. “My first year here, I really didn’t know a lot of people in the same major as me. Once I heard they were reviving it I was like, ‘Of course, I want to be a part of that.’

“I was planning all the events, organizing them with the members and then recruiting new members,” Smeu added. “It was a huge commitment. I put in a lot of time and effort, but I think the results are great. We have a solid group of people and I wouldn’t have really known any of these people without the club. I think it’s in good hands now, and it’s a great way for people to interact and have fun at the social events.”

Smeu was also vice president of UNICEF Oakland University.

“I wanted to do something outside of math and I enjoyed volunteering,” Smeu said. “My sister Andrea was part of it and we had some friends who were part of this club. We started to get more involved. We thought the events we were participating in were good causes. My sister ending up being the president and I was the vice president. We enjoyed giving back to the youth community and the children locally. It was nice to have something different to do outside of my major.”

Smeu said she and Andrea were super close during their time at Oakland. She would go to Andrea’s PA club events to support her, while Andrea would go to her math club events. They both worked on their senior thesis this year and graduated together.

“Doing all this stuff together, we’ve just become so much closer,” Smeu said. “She doesn’t like math at all and I don’t really like science, but it works out perfectly. We were really able to lean on each other.”

Smeu plans on working full time at The Schaeffler Group, but said she’s open to the possibility of going to graduate school in the future.

“I feel it’s a good mix of logic and analysis,” Smeu said of working at Schaeffler Group. “I like the challenge of it and I feel Oakland has prepared me for whatever the future holds.”