Everybody has a story to be told. At Villanova, it is the combined effort of hundreds of faculty and staff, day in and day out, that makes this place special. Most would say they are rather familiar with these staff members, but this familiarity is largely just on a professional level. Many students interact with these people daily without ever knowing their stories or backgrounds. But in order to truly display campus culture, one must not ignore the hundreds of people that keep this campus running every day.
Thomas Allen is an Augustine and Culture Seminar (ACS) professor at Villanova. While students most often see Allen in class challenging someone’s interpretation of Antigone or questioning the underlying meanings in Genesis Passages, many do not get a chance to hear his personal story.
Despite his current position, teaching was not Allen’s first choice. Before coming to Villanova, Allen worked for 35 years as a Philadelphia lawyer trying commercial cases from all over the country.
“In my 50s, I started to think that life was more of a young person’s game,” Allen said. “So I decided to retire at 60 and do something different.”
After he retired, he came to Villanova and worked towards a master’s degree in history. Allen cites his experience of attaining a master’s degree at Villanova as the reason he wanted to come teach here.
“There was hard work to be done, but [the master’s program] was a wonderful experience,” Allen said. “I think it was 2013, I had learned about the ACS program [at Villanova.] … I applied, started teaching ACS, and have been doing that ever since.”
Despite not having a background in education, working as a lawyer had its own impact on Allen’s teaching style. His background has proven useful for teaching ACS, specifically.
“When you’re a lawyer trying to convince a judge or jury, you’re teaching them,” Allen explained. “You use Q&A in a way that is pretty different from the classroom…not identical but with a carryover to how an essay of the kind that is written in ACS should be persuasive.”
Allen’s time as a lawyer translating to the classroom displays the positives of having adjunct professors on staff. Having educators from different job backgrounds provides diverse learning experiences for students.
It was Allen’s experience as a student in his history master’s program here that got him started. But he claims that there are three factors that continue to inspire him and keep him coming back year after year.
“One, if I had to design a course for freshmen, it would be very similar to ACS,” Allen said. “The design of ACS, including the question ‘who am I?’ is terrific for a freshman… I think almost all freshmen benefit from a more centralized exposure… to the culture that brings us to where we are today. I think it’s just right to have an emphasis on writing and discussion.”
While the design of ACS brought Allen into teaching, it is the students that continue to inspire him and provide hope for the future.
“Number two: freshmen,” Allen said. “I can’t tell you how refreshing it is for me to have contact with younger people, particularly at the changeable stage of life. I like the students that I deal with, I think they are going to be good citizens. That is very refreshing.”
If the great course structure and inspiring students weren’t enough, Allen also attributes his love for Villanova to his colleagues and fellow ACS professors.
“It’s an extraordinary group of people who teach ACS,” Allen said. “Scholars in lots of different disciplines, very serious, very committed and it’s a privilege for me to have contact with them and to operate in [this] environment.”
ACS is a crucial part of the freshman year experience and our time at Villanova, and so are our professors.
