This Arizona woman recites more than 1,000 digits of pi each year. Here's why

When Ainsley Ramsey was in sixth grade she competed in a contest: Who could recite the most digits of pi?

Ramsey was determined.

"I did 100 digits and I won. And I remember getting a pie to bring to lunch and my friends and I all got to have the pie," Ramsey said. "That was clearly a core memory."

Another pi contest in high school sparked Ramsey's interest to recite more pi. That was when she decided to memorize 100 more digits of pi each year.

This year she's going to recite 1,100 digits.

Pi Day falls on March 14 every year, a play on the first four digits of pi, 3.14. But the number does not stop there: Pi has an infinite number of digits, 62.8 trillion that have been calculated by Swiss researchers.

But for Ramsey, Pi Day isn't just about reciting pi, it's about giving back to the community.

Fundraising in the name of pi

Ramsey is an actuarial consultant at a health care consulting firm. She's also the organizer of the annual Piece of the Pi fundraiser, which works with the Phoenix Science Center to raise money to expand access to STEM.

Piece of the Pi started in 2021 as an independent fundraiser where Ramsey had people Venmo her donations. Now, she has 29 members helping with fundraising.

She said she was inspired to begin the fundraiser because of a boss she had who used to raise money to provide turkeys to people for Thanksgiving.

"I remember working at my dad's apartment that day when I decided to do it, and I went to a grocery store and grabbed a cake," she said. I made a little pi symbol with sprinkles on the cake and then I had my dad take pictures of me holding said cake. And I posted something to the tune of, 'This is very scary for me, but I'm going to try and fundraise'."

Now she's been fundraising for four years, and the nonprofit is in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3).

One program the group fundraises for provides Title I schools with passes to the Science Center, which students can check out like library books. The student can then take their family to the center. Ramsey said she wants to get as many passes covered as possible

This year the funds raised will support a panel professional series where five women representing different STEM sectors will run workshops to show young adults what they do.

Why recite pi?

Ramsey has gotten questions on why she recites pi every year. Over the years, friends and family would be excited for her to recite it, which was what kept her memorizing, she said.

"I remember being either in high school or early college and saying, 'If I ever get to 1,000, like if I ever actually do that, I will literally get a pi symbol tattoo,'" Ramsey said. "And I actually did 1,000 last year, so now I have a pi symbol tattoo."

For Ramsey, Pi Day is a celebration of how far she has come, she said. While not everyone needs to recognize Pi Day as a big day, she said the occasion is special for her.

"I actually had one year where I received more texts on Pi Day than my own birthday," Ramsey said.

Diagnosed with ADHD at 17, Ramsey said her brain works differently in memorizing numbers. She was tested on reciting words backward and she scored average. But when asked to recite numbers, her results were off the charts.

"It just sticks with me more," she said. "As I am reciting pi, if there's a point where it's wrong, I can tell immediately that I've gotten it wrong because it doesn't feel right with the pattern, but I couldn't necessarily tell you what the right one is."

Ramsey said 1,000 seemed like a cool conclusion to her yearslong tradition, but she kept going. She said she might not always continue to memorize more digits and recite the number but when she will stop is uncertain.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona woman celebrates Pi Day by reciting 1,100 digits of pi