Sylvia Stewart-Lumpkin ’75 dedicated over three decades of her career to providing a welcoming space for her students to flourish. She notes that her experience with the Association of Black Collegians modeled how she wanted to address her classroom.
“The Association of Black Collegians (at Allegheny) was a major influence in my career,” says Stewart-Lumpkin, who majored in sociology and English. “What transferred was the importance of community. I tried to create a classroom where they respected each other, listened to each other, and helped each other to grow.”
Not long after graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Stewart-Lumpkin received her master’s degree in education from Allegheny College in 1976.
Stewart-Lumpkin spent her time as an educator teaching English to students of different academic levels, starting at Carl F. Shuler Junior High School in Cleveland, Ohio— continuing at Lincoln Middle School and Cleveland Heights High School. She has also served on several school committees and as the English Department Liaison.
She credits Allegheny College for enabling her to analyze literature through an interdisciplinary lens of the arts, culture, history, economics, philosophy, and psychology.
In 2010, she retired from Cleveland Heights High School, but that didn’t stop her from remaining active in students’ lives. She remained busy as an educational consultant, volunteered at elementary schools, and volunteered at the Empowering Youth Exploring Justice program in Cleveland, Ohio.
Stewart-Lumpkin remarks, “You should bloom where God plants you, and you should share what God blesses you to grow! Teaching was not easy, but it was what I wanted to do, and it was what I most enjoyed. In the classroom, as an instructor, was where I felt that I could make the biggest difference in the lives of the students. I hope they learned the needed skills and understood their responsibility to prepare for the future. I hope they are lifelong learners, exploring— at whatever their ages— the possibilities of life!”
