Girls math group equates courage, knowledge   Girls math group
equates courage, knowledge  The geometry class in Project MISS
works on a math test in McCarthy Hall at Cal State Fullerton.
The hassle of getting out of bed early on a Friday morning
almost made math tutor Patricia Escovedo not want to make the
drive to Cal State Fullerton.  "I have these two students," said
Escovedo, a 19-year-old student at St. Mary's University in San
Antonio, Texas. "They are just this little ball of energy, and I
think today I really woke up just because I knew I was going to
see my students' faces, and I know a lot of them want to be
here."  Escovedo teaches math from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to a group
of high school-aged girls who signed up for the month-long
Project Mathematics Intensive Summer Session (MISS). The all-
girl program, founded by CSUF math professor David Pagni in
1990, focuses on teaching high school-level math skills and
building young girls' confidence in class participation.  The
tutors and instructors, who are