A recent college grad, Ms. Allie Pauly is excited to start her career at Dowling Catholic this year! Ms. Pauly grew up in Ankeny, Iowa, and graduated from Ankeny Centennial High School in 2021. From there, she attended Iowa State University and graduated in 2025, pursuing a career in education.

But she found her passion for teaching long before attending Iowa State. She credits her dad, Mr. Marshall Pauly, for a lot of her teaching passion. Mr. Pauly has been teaching AP Physics at Dowling for over 20 years, and his dedication has definitely rubbed off on Ms. Pauly “I’m just truly, really proud of my dad.” 

She also found her passion for teaching from her high school choir directors, who she says “were so passionate about the art form of music and choir.” Though Ms. Pauly did experience a bit of a culture shock. Coming to Dowling from schools with very large choir programs has taken a little getting used to, especially with Dowling’s show choir, Dimensions.

Dimensions is Dowling’s varsity show choir group, and performs at 4 competitions in the Des Moines area. Even though it is her first year as a director, Ms. Pauly is no stranger to the wonderful world of show choir. “I’m a little nervous but I really am excited to be a part of that community again.” As a first time director, Ms. Pauly has brought a fresh, new perspective to show choir at Dowling.

This year, Dimensions is bringing a new take to show choir with their 2025-26 show, Remembrance. This show is focused on two soloists, Erin and Nick (Sophomore Dawson Huinker and Senior Ben Hall), who fall in love at a school dance. But when tragedy strikes and Nick loses his memory, it is up to Erin to help him get his memories back. Ms. Pauly has excelled through the process of creating this show, even though she is working with a much smaller group than she expected. “It’s still incredibly special to be able to have more of an intimate group of people as a part of the choir.”