WOODBURY — Laura Pierson’s love for teaching started at a very early age.

“I can remember when I was little, I used to take my stuffed animals and line them up like they were in a classroom and teach them math,” said Pierson, Nonnewaug High School’s math interventionists.

Pierson has a simple motivation behind why she helps students.

“It has always made me sad when kids avoid doing math because they’re struggling,” Pierson said. “I want to make that struggle go away so that they don’t avoid doing it.”

Surprisingly, though, Pierson didn’t go directly to teaching. She worked for IBM, a computer company, for 28 years before she decided to go back to college to get her teaching degree.

Pierson was hired by IBM as a computational engineer, doing modeling of their computer operating systems. After she was hired for that initial job, she moved all around into different departments including sales, consultant for education, and recruiting.

“Teaching is something I always wanted to do, and oddly, I was discouraged from it by my own family and friends way back when I graduated high school,” Pierson said. “A lot of people were being encouraged to be teachers. They were encouraging girls in particular those who were good at math and science to go into engineering-type fields, [so] that is why I went to IBM instead of becoming a teacher first thing.”

Parker Krom, a sophomore at Nonnewaug, is grateful that Pierson went back to get her teaching degree.

“She makes everything so much easier for all of us students, [and] she has a very good amount of patience for everyone,” Krom said.

Pierson wants to go further than just all math subjects. She says she wants to relearn chemistry to better help students.

“Everybody’s always talking about how algebra II and chemistry are rough, and I know students feel overwhelmed with both of those courses at the same time,” Pierson stated. “I wish I could just say, ‘Open up your worksheet and let me see if I can help you with it.’ I want to make the anguish go away.”

Jamie Lisevick, a geometry teacher at Nonnewaug, loves what Pierson does for the school.

“I think she’s an excellent resource for our school,” Lisevick said. “She cares about student learning, [and] she’s invested in helping students build a stronger foundation in mathematics.”

Pierson doesn’t just teach at Nonnewaug. She also teaches at two different colleges: Post University and Naugatuck Valley Community College.

“I actually started teaching at those colleges before I got a public school job, [but] I just never let those jobs go,” Pierson said. “Then I got a public school job. I just kept balancing all three.”

Pierson stays after school daily until 3:30 to help students in need of math help. Katelyn Burrier, a junior at Nonnewaug, started to stay after school with Pierson.

“I’ve stayed after school with her many times before,” Burrier said. “I missed a couple of days of school and had to make sure I knew the topic before I took the test.”

Lisevick also believes that Pierson is a necessity for the school.

“I think she’s an excellent resource for our school,” Lisevick said. “She cares about student learning and meets students where they’re at. She also makes an environment that they feel safe in to ask questions.”