The Faces That Make Us: Annmarie Houck ’90

When the math and computer science department advertised an urgent opening, Annmarie Houck ’90, assistant professor and current department chair, was quick to apply.

As an alumna of Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales, it had been her dream to one day return to her alma mater to teach. What began as a one-year contract turned into a rich 31-year career, and a constant blessing.

What gets you excited to come into work each day?

I’m passionate about teaching. Interacting with the students each day, both in and out of the classroom, is rewarding. We have exceptionally talented majors here in our department, and it is exciting to see all the wonderful things that they go on to do after graduation. I enjoy teaching non-majors as well. Many of those students are hesitant to take a mathematics class and watching them succeed and develop an appreciation for the subject is a joy.

Would you recommend a career in math or computer science?

There are so many career options available to our math and computer science majors these days and job opportunities will only continue to grow moving forward.

When I first started teaching, most of our majors went on to mathematics teaching or computer programming jobs. While these two are still important and viable career options for our majors, there are many more choices for them as well.

We have alumni working as data scientists, statisticians, actuaries, software engineers, cybersecurity analysts, and IT managers to name just a few, and we value their advice and expertise in keeping our courses up to date. The problem solving and analytical skills that they develop in our programs make them quite valuable in the job market. We have a wonderful group of alumni that stay connected with us.

What’s it like being department chair?

Honestly, I was a bit reluctant to take on the role as chair as I did not want the responsibilities of that position to impact my time and effectiveness in the classroom. Even though my passion is teaching, I have enjoyed my time as chair. I have an exceptional group of colleagues in the math/computer science department who all care deeply about our students and help to make my job as chair much easier.

What’s the most interesting or unusual item on your desk?

The sheer number of purple pens that I have on it might be unusual. I grade papers in purple pen, so I need a lot of them!

If you had a free afternoon in the Lehigh Valley, where would you go?

I would definitely hit one of the many fantastic wineries or breweries in the Lehigh Valley. I love hanging out at these places with family and friends on any given weekend.