Emily Allen
Llano High School,
Llano ISD, Texas

Emily Allen is head of the business and technology department at Llano High School in Llano, Texas. But she also has another title with her students -- some of them call her "mom."

Many of her students consider her to be a second mother, and Allen also sees her students as part of her family. On special holidays, her phone rings off the hook as former and current students phone to wish her well.

Those close relationships motivate Allen to go the extra mile for her students.

"I do it because they need me," she says. "Some of them need the adult presence. Some don't have that at home. I care."

Those close ties were reinforced recently when a student she was very close to passed away. "He was like a son," she says. "He even lived with us for a while."

Despite the loss, Allen hasn't slowed down in her efforts to help her students.

"I love being around high school students," she says. "I love the energy."

Prior to teaching, Allen studied accounting and worked in a CPA firm. Now, she is passionate about sharing her business knowledge with students, no matter what their future plans involve.

"Kids don't have to go to college to be successful," she says. Whatever they do in the future, "they will need to have business skills. They will have to know how to balance a check book."

Allen is proud of her involvement with the University Interscholastic League (UIL). Some of the students she sponsored went on to do well in the competition.

Allen is always striving to learn new technologies to pass on to her students. She even invites former students to come share their knowledge with her classes. She recently traveled to Las Vegas to attend a workshop on Autodesk, a type of animation software. She is always looking for new things to share with her students in a changing world.

Bridges Transitions congratulates Emily Allen on her success as a teacher!

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