Angel Lucas first stepped onto the campus of Durham Technical Community College in 2018 as a junior in high school. She never imagined what her journey would be before finishing her associate degree in early childhood education in May 2026.
She began as a dual-enrollment student — eager, motivated, and getting a head start on college coursework while still balancing homework, family, friends and the demands of high school life. Durham Tech felt familiar from the beginning, she said, not only because of its welcoming atmosphere, but because her family already had strong ties to the College.
Both of her parents attended Durham Tech years earlier, using the College as a launch pad for their own careers in early childhood education. Family conversations often included stories about instructors who made a difference, classes that opened doors, and the importance of education in building opportunity.
“I grew up hearing about Durham Tech,” Lucas said. “My parents always talked about how supportive the College was and how it helped shape their lives. Coming here felt natural because it was already part of our family story. It is touching to think that I sat in some of the same classrooms that my parents did some 20 years earlier. I am proud of that.”
After graduating from high school, Lucas was on track to finish with her Associate in Early Childhood Education but found herself wanting to explore another passion — math. Lucas left Durham Tech and went to Hampton University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
“Have you ever had two strong passions and you want to explore them both?” Lucas said. “That was me, so I got that math degree and then came right back to finish up what I started in early childhood at Durham Tech.”
Coming back to Durham Tech as an adult student brought a new perspective. She arrived with more life experience, a clearer sense of purpose, and a determination to build a meaningful career supporting young learners.
Faculty members in the Early Childhood Education program encouraged her growth academically and personally, she said. Through hands-on learning experiences, classroom observations, and coursework focused on child development, she gained confidence in her abilities as an educator.
“The second time around, I was preparing for the work I truly wanted to do,” Lucas said. “Durham Tech is the best, and the instructors are genuinely there to guide students and support them. As students, we were working hard to balance life and school and knowing your instructors understand this and were there to push you while supporting you was huge. The instructors create a space where you believe you can do it and be successful. I’ll always love Durham Tech.”
During this time, Lucas discovered that her family connection to Durham Tech gave her an even greater appreciation for the college’s role in the community.
“It’s special knowing my parents walked the halls of Durham Tech before me,” Lucas said. “Now I’m a Durham Tech grad. A legacy student of Durham Tech and the Early Childhood Education program. It feels like we’re all connected through this place.”
With both her math and early education degrees in hand, Lucas was faced with choosing between her two passions.
Lucas chose early childhood education, the babies as she affectionately calls them, over teaching high school students.
“I was drawn to both the babies and the older students in the cusp of adulthood,” Lucas said. “Both student groups are in critical stages of their lives. I teach the babies how to share, how to speak to people, and how things grow. It’s not just their ABCs but it’s life lessons they will carry with them. Then the older students are ‘like here is adulthood and I want to be grown, but I’m not’ and they need guidance too. Sometimes those same life lessons I teach to my little ones are good refresher lessons for the older students.”
For Lucas, earning her degree in Early Childhood Education represents more than a credential. It marks the completion of a journey that began years earlier as a dual-enrolled high school student and evolved into a calling to help shape the next generation of learners.
Those learners will look different. Lucas has accepted a teaching position in Orlando, Fla., where she will teach math to high school students.
“People ask me why, with my math background, did I not go on to become a doctor or engineer,” Lucas said. “I’ve always known that if I could do something on this planet that fulfills me and helps someone that would be enough and worth all the money, I could make in other professions. Teaching fulfills me.”