For Allison Wade, it all began in a little one-hallway elementary school in Malta, TX. Here she would find her passion for English, and in turn, her love for teaching. Even as a grade school student, Allison found herself in the position to help her fellow students who found themselves struggling with the lessons. She says, “I’m very thankful that I had that experience because one of my old classmates saw me and said, ‘You know, I couldn’t have done that class without you.’ … That helped drive me to where I am today knowing that I have a passion for teaching that started early on.” This ignited her desire to continue helping students, especially those who find school challenging.
Having always been academically driven, wrapping her self-worth up in her grades, Allison has found the experience of attending TAMUT has changed her perspective on what is important in school and life. Where insignificant test scores once drove her, Allison says, in her new university setting, “I just learned it is just like a blip in my whole life about what grade I’m making on this singular assignment. And it doesn’t define anything. So, I had to grow and change where my value was found.” So, she began finding her worth in the relationships and community she developed attending TAMUT. “Because if you surround yourself with fun, good people, you don’t really search for validation as much as you would if you didn’t feel like you belonged anywhere.”
Allison feels that her experience student teaching while at TAMUT has made her much more serious about her future role as an educator. What started with confidence, Allison has learned spending time in the classroom is far different than she ancticipated. She says, “It’s nothing compared to actually being in the moment… But it is so much more than I could have ever imagined.”
To deal with these new and exciting challenges of becoming a future educator, Allison relies on her faith to get her through the difficult times. She keeps a photo of her younger self on her mirror to remind her that we are all God’s creations and to follow the golden rule. Her faith and her church have been a large part of what motivates her to be a good teacher. Her driving force boils down to this: “What little mustard seed of faith I can put in people’s life, and it all came from the experiences I had.”