This was an exciting class to me because it saw the marriage of two concepts I had previously known as independent: differential equations (MATH 307) and matrix algebra (MATH 308). The class essentially boiled down to using matrices and matrix logic to solve increasingly difficult differential equations, with some tangential subjects like Fourier series thrown in for fun. A lot of the math we learned was procedural; that is, I could go into a test with a notes sheet that tells me exactly how to do most of the problems. Dr. Garcia made it more challenging, however, by giving us problems that were very difficult unless you we used properties we had learned and logic to find shortcuts. This built on my knowledge of mathematical reasoning and forced me to think outside the box if I got stuck, important skills in math and other fields as well.