#WhyIChoseEducation: Lydia Allen ’15, ’22MS On Her Love for Math and Helping Students Grow

Lydia Allen ’15, ’22MS remembers putting down her pencil at the end of a high school calculus test and thinking, “If I could do this every day for the rest of my life, that would be the dream.”

With encouragement from Walter M. Williams High School mathematics teacher Becky Caison ’73 and retired North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics teacher Dan Teague ’97PHD, Allen made her way to the NC State College of Education, where she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education.

Now, she not only teaches mathematics at Walter M. Williams High School in Alamance County, but she is also a 2025 North Carolina Finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

On Why I Chose Education:

As much as I love math, when I started teaching, I found out that what I love more is helping my students grow in their love for math and being able to share that with them. 

It is a really, really special career to have a front-row seat to the growth of students at such a formative time in their lives. I can’t imagine doing anything but teaching, because how can I give up that front-row seat to seeing students grow and learn and come to appreciate something that I love so much.

On How Education Shaped Me:

Once I got into elementary school, I can trace a direct line from the teachers I had who led me and shaped me into the educator I am today. Education shapes everybody’s lives. We’re constantly learning; we’re constantly being encouraged to believe or think something. I was so lucky to have, throughout my formal and informal education, so many amazing mentors who saw potential in me and directed me on a path in life where I’m able to use my talents to benefit others.

On What I Enjoyed the Most About My Time with NC State’s College of Education:

The biggest impact I make as a teacher is how I make my students feel, how I encourage them and make them feel capable. What I loved about NC State’s College of Education is that’s what I felt from my professors. They were my biggest cheerleaders in helping me grow to be the best educator that I can be. 

On What Others Should Know about NC State’s College of Education: 

The NC State College of Education is the best that there is. I had a former student of mine who just finished her freshman year as a mathematics education major at NC State come back and see me, and we were comparing our notes about our freshman year in the College of Education. I was so encouraged to hear about her experiences and how much she was already enjoying the College of Education and felt that community, both from her professors and her peers, while working toward becoming a great educator.

On the Last Thing That Inspired Me:

In my Math 3 class this semester, I had three students who came in without a lot of English vocabulary, and they were three of my hardest working students in my Math 3 class. It was inspiring to me to see the perseverance with which they worked through challenging math topics.