Call it serendipity: In the early 1980s, Wanda Fowler was at her wit’s end in the Sunday school class she taught for some especially “energetic” children. “I didn’t know how to handle them!” Wanda says. “Then I saw a flyer for Wake Tech’s Early Childhood Education and thought a couple of classes might help.”

The classes did help – but it was more than that. Once Wanda got started, she realized childhood education was her calling. She got a job as an assistant pre-school teacher and continued taking coursework at night. In 1988, she was in the very first graduating class of Wake Tech’s Early Childhood Education program.

After getting her associate’s degree, Wanda worked her way from teacher to administrator to director. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development Family Studies. Wanda is now a Quality Enhancement Specialist with Wake County Smart Start, working to improve child care centers across Wake County. She’s also reaching out to the next generation of early childhood educators as a part-time instructor at Wake Tech. Her commitment to quality education for pre-schoolers is still the driving force. “Wake Tech did more than equip me for a career,” she says. “It helped me discover my passion.”