Hilary Allen, a graduate from the University of North Georgia, is McIntosh’s newest history teacher. Though teaching is what she eventually chose, she started off in another career path—nursing.
“I went to Whitewater and I did the nursing pathway there, and I got my CNA [license] at 16,” Allen said.
The time Allen spent in the healthcare field led her to discover her love to help out kids.
“I initially wanted to go into nursing, but I realized very quickly I didn’t like it, but in doing that. I helped a lot of kids that weren’t able to go to school with their homework, and I realized that I enjoyed being able to help them understand something and be able to grasp concepts they didn’t think they’d be able to,” Allen said.
With Allen’s passion for teaching and her love for history, it naturally led to her becoming a world history teacher.
“I’ve always found history interesting. I think the way I like to view it is it’s one long kind of story on how we got to the world that we are in today. So I think it’s interesting to try to figure out different aspects of life and why we are the way we are,” Allen said.
This school year is her very first year teaching, and she feels that McIntosh has been very welcoming.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. Everyone’s been very sweet. All the teachers have been very helpful. The principal and vice principal have all been very nice and helpful,” Allen said.
As Allen settles in, she gives advice to future teachers.
“Don’t give up. You’ll feel like a fish out of water a lot of the time, but it gets easier the more you do,” Allen said.
