Stephen Kvamme: Math in the Real World

Stephen Kvamme’s love of math is opening doors. Since January, Kvamme has been interning with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Keyport in Keyport, Washington. Recently, the NUWC offered Kvamme a full-time position as an electronics engineer. He starts his new job on June 24, roughly one week after graduation.

Kvamme’s passion for math is multifold. “I love solving math problems and can sometimes get into a state of flow and lose track of time,” he said. Kvamme came to UW Tacoma in the fall of 2017 to pursue a degree in electrical engineering. “With electrical engineering you can use math to help solve real world problems and help people,” he said.

The third of five children, Kvamme graduates with his bachelor’s at the same time his sister completes a Master of Education from UW Tacoma. The brother and sister won’t walk together but they are in the same ceremony. “It’s great because that means we got a lot of tickets for Commencement.” Kvamme’s oldest brother recently graduated from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and will soon be a resident in psychiatry at UW Seattle.

Education is big part of the Kvamme family. Stephen’s father is an optometrist and his mother used to be an elementary school teacher. “All of us were homeschooled through high school,” said Kvamme. “Our parents always encouraged us to pursue higher education but they never told us we had to go.”

While at UW Tacoma, Kvamme worked as a facilitator for the School of Engineering and Technology. “I gave seminars on different topics, tutored students who needed help and walked through problems,” he said. “The goal was to give students a chance to work through sample problems to better their understanding.”

Math isn’t Kvamme’s only interest. He’s also a musician and runner. Kvamme plays percussion and piano. He’s a percussion coach for the Tacoma Junior Youth Symphony and he runs at least two miles every day. “I love music and running,” he said. “I’m able to lose myself in much the same way as I do with math.”