JU alum picked to present ‘Number Hunter’ TV show concept at pioneering One Spark fest

By Phillip Milano

Stephanie Glen has their number. Or hopes to, soon. 

The 2006 JU alum is one of the creators who’ll vie for seed money for her project, the educational TV show “The Number Hunter,” at the ground-breaking One Spark crowd-funding fest this month in downtown Jacksonville. 

Her entire effort to get the cross-cultural, web-based math show off the ground started just weeks ago. Glen, who received her Master of Arts in Teaching with a major in Mathematics Education at JU, was trying to figure out a way to creatively get math concepts across to pre-teens – particularly disadvantaged ones. 

“A friend of mine was thinking of starting a non-profit to send inner-city kids to Africa for life-changing adventures,” she said. “And something just clicked. I didn’t have the resources to send kids to Africa, but I did have a lot of knowledge about African math, and I thought it would be cool to make a TV show highlighting the fun aspects of math.” 

(See a promo video for The Number Hunter below:)

A former JU adjunct professor of mathematics, Glen will compete with others for a share of $250,000 in funding to be decided upon by public vote. She’ll be hosted for her presentation at The Jacksonville Landing.

“A cross between Crocodile Hunter and Bill Nye the Science Guy, The Number Hunter … is a unique approach to engaging children in mathematics through visits to exotic locations, interviews with sports personalities, tribal chiefs and other real-world people who use math in their daily lives,” Glen says in her One Spark entry.

At JU, Glen said, she learned how to get instructional concepts across and built her skills thanks to great teachers. 

“My studies and teaching experience definitely set the stage for me to be able to create this show,” she said. “Although I didn’t feel I was very good at math when I started at JU, I gained confidence in my abilities thanks to the excellent teachers and small classes. The support from fellow students and teachers was incredible. It made me feel like I could accomplish anything!” 

For more on the The Number Hunter, click here. For more on One Spark, click here. For a Folio Weekly profile of Glen and her project, click here.