AP Life: Beall builds fundamental knowledge in his classes

At McIntosh High, Allen Beall teaches Financial Literacy, Banking & Investing, and Intro to Business & Technology, giving his students key life skills.

Beall just finished his 16th year at McIntosh, but it certainly wasn’t the career destination he expected.

“At no point in time did I ever expect I’d be sitting here doing an interview (as a teacher),” he said.

After getting a business and economics degree from VMI, he worked for Penske Corporation doing leasing and rentals. One day when he was eating at a local restaurant, he ran into one of his old high school football coaches. That coach’s son was playing youth football, and the team was looking for help.

“I said I’ll coach. Football’s been a part of my life since I was 6 years old. That seems like a lot of fun,” he remembered.

A year of youth football gave him the coaching bug, and he decided to dive into the deep end. He was planning to work with his old head coach from Starr’s Mill at a local private school when McIntosh’s then-Principal Lisa Fine called. They had an opening for an accounting teacher they needed to fill, and Beall took it while he worked on his teaching degree.

“She took a shot on me, and I’ll never forget that. I’m very grateful,” he said. “It caught me at the right time. I chose to do it, and it was the best decision I ever made in my life, no question.”

His mother was a teacher for 36 years, setting a good example as an educator.

“She was happy in her career, and she was good at it,” he said.

Coaching brought him into the classroom, but it was there that he found his calling.

“Consistently, I feel like my job has purpose,” he said. “The young men and women they keep me young, and they challenge me every day.”

He likes to consider what he teaches to be AP Life. It gives his students many of the skills they need to be successful adults. That may mean a wide range of things like investing, owning property, and buying car insurance.

“Kids have an idea of what they want to do with their life, but they don’t know how to get there,” he said. “I’m lucky enough to help them with that hopefully.”

Being a positive influence in their lives gives him purpose.

“Why do I love this job? The relationships and watching young people grow and mature and knowing that I was a part of that, even a small part of it,” he said. “That brings me joy. A life of service is one that’s rewarding.”

 

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