Mathematics graduate, service leader launches teaching career while demonstrating the transformative power of Presbyterian College
Lyle Jones had not yet graduated from Presbyterian College when he began teaching mathematics full time.
The Mauldin native spent his final semester at PC not in a lecture hall or methods course, but standing in front of classrooms filled with ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade students every day under a residency arranged through Presbyterian College’s education department.
That opportunity, Jones said, was no accident.
When Clinton High School needed a mathematics teacher after a longtime educator announced plans to retire midyear, school officials contacted Dr. Patricia Jones, executive director and chair of Presbyterian College’s Education Department.
“She said, ‘I don’t have any graduates, but this student is about to start his student teaching,’” Jones recalled during an interview before commencement.
The school hired him under a provisional teaching license that became a full license after graduation. Jones officially graduated magna cum laude on May 9 with degrees in mathematics and education.
“The professors in the education department are incredible,” Jones said. “They’re all so passionate about education, so passionate about the students. They will do everything in their power to get you connections in the world — and to make sure that you have a job when you graduate.”
His passion for mathematics — combined with his academic achievements and campus leadership — earned widespread recognition during Presbyterian College’s Honors Day ceremony this spring. Jones received the Jean Kirkley Memorial Scholarship, the American Legion Award, the Jack and Jane Presseau Community Service Award and was named Outstanding Senior in Mathematics.
Prepared Before Day One
Jones said Presbyterian College’s education program prepared him well for the transition from college student to classroom teacher.
“PC definitely gave me lots more preparation than needed,” he said with a laugh. “They have you write very robust and full lesson plans. Then I started working, and they said, ‘We just need about four or five sentences of what you’re doing.’”
That comprehensive preparation made the realities of teaching feel manageable once he entered the classroom.
“PC gave me a lot more work, a lot more to think about than you need in the day,” he said. “So when you get to the day, you can pull what you need from your arsenal and knowledge.”
The relationships, however, took a different kind of preparation.
At just 22 years old, Jones was teaching students only a few years younger than himself.
“It’s been a little bit tough,” he admitted. “But I do think I have been developing good relationships. I’ve been writing good lessons that they’ve been enjoying.”
More importantly, he said, PC’s education faculty emphasized that teaching extends beyond delivering content.
“The PC education department has taken great pains to ensure that the human side of teaching is not lost,” he said. “It’s reminded me of the importance of leadership — not just as a teacher who has to instruct students on how geometry works, but also just being a leader in their lives in general, especially for students who don’t necessarily have that.”
The PC education department has taken great pains to ensure that the human side of teaching is not lost. It’s reminded me of the importance of leadership — not just as a teacher who has to instruct students on how geometry works, but also just being a leader in their lives in general, especially for students who don’t necessarily have that.”
Lyle Jones, Class of 2026
A Community That Shaped Him
Jones first learned about Presbyterian College through his sister, Dessa, a 2023 graduate who is a special education teacher at Clinton Elementary School, where she was recently named Teacher of the Year.
Long before enrolling, Jones was already spending weekends in Clinton, visiting campus and staying on his sister’s couch.
By the time he applied to colleges, he said the decision already felt obvious. What surprised him most after arriving, however, was the depth of the community he found.
“Every student ambassador says it, every professor says it — everybody talks about the community at PC and how great it is,” Jones said. “But it really is.”
Service Beyond the Classroom
Outside academics, Jones became deeply involved in Student Volunteer Services, one of Presbyterian College’s most active student organizations.
“It’s been one of the best things about my career at PC,” he said.
Through Student Volunteer Services, Jones participated in projects ranging from Rise Against Hunger and Special Olympics to church partnerships, environmental cleanup efforts, and community gardening initiatives throughout Clinton and Laurens County.
Jones also participated in Celtic Cross, Presbyterian College’s ecumenical leadership organization, which combines service, leadership and global learning. The experience took him to Scotland last summer and will send him to Germany this summer.
Those experiences, he said, reinforced lessons he now carries into the classroom.
“As somebody who’s been studying education, you kind of hope leadership is something you have at least something of a grasp on, because that’s kind of the job,” he said.
As Jones begins his teaching career, he said Presbyterian College prepared him for far more than employment.
“You will find a community like none you’ve ever experienced before,” he said. “You will develop relationships and connections with people that will last the rest of your life.”
