Teacher Spotlight: Wanda Lucas

By WCA Senior Evie Fordham

Wanda Lucas is a veteran science teacher, having taught physical science, along with biology and biotech, at Wake Christian Academy for ten years; however, her role at Wake Christian has changed this year as she assumed a new position in the math department instructing Algebra II.

Mrs. Lucas is very passionate about her new role. She said, “I love math! I actually majored in math with a minor in science… Math is such a necessity, and I look forward to trying to help students fall in love with it if they hate it or grow to love it more if they already have the passion for it.”

Mrs. Lucas has been married to her husband, Ed, for twenty-five years, and they have two sons: McLean, a junior at North Carolina State University, and Cameron, a heavy equipment operator in the Marines.

“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” stated Mrs. Lucas, “The thought of sharing knowledge and watching students ‘get it’ is always a thrill. My fifth grade teacher and my high school Algebra II teacher helped to ignite the spark! They were both great teachers, and I could see myself, even at a young age, doing the same.”

For Mrs. Lucas, “the most rewarding aspects of teaching are ‘seeing the light bulb come on’ and formulating relationships beyond the classroom.”

She adds, “I love my students and care about their lives beyond the academics. It thrills me when I get a text from a former student thanking me for teaching them something that they later have needed in college or just something that may have helped them in life in general.”

Mrs. Lucas tries to stress two things to her classes. Academically, she wants them to learn that “EVERYONE can succeed! Someone may have to work a little harder than the next person, but if you want it badly enough — success can be yours!”

Regarding life lessons, which she views as the most important, she wants them to embrace doing “everything as unto the Lord! Just do the right thing even if you are the only one! Always, always be honest!”