BY JENA GONZALIVES

On Wednesday June 24, WCHS lost a beloved teacher and coach to a fatal car accident on Highway 40 in New Mexico.

Don Allen taught at Bulldog Country for 17 years beginning in August of 1998. Allen has been teaching and coaching for over 25 years. He started as a World History teacher, then began teaching U.S History, Health, P.E,  and later, Life Science.

“Donny Allen, who taught and coached with me since 98…was one of my closest friends and definitely among the most loyal and kindest people I have ever met” wrote Head Football Coach Mike Maggiore on a Facebook post.

As a freshman, I had the great privilege of meeting such a great teacher and sitting in the desks of his classroom in R1 . Allen was an amazing teacher who cared for all of his students and how they were doing in his classes. Sometimes he cared more than we did.

I will never forget the things he did for my sixth period health class to motivate my classmates and me to get a higher grade average than all the other classes. He motivated us not only to learn, but do our best as we were learning and he took it to the next step to motivate us more. I remember at the beginning of the school year Allen gave us the incentive to have a donut or pizza party. The whole class was so eager to win our pizza party by getting the highest class percentage.

Allen was also a great coach. On the field, he was very tough on each of his players.

“I remember playing for him my sophomore year,” said WCHS alumnus Christopher Rodriguez. “He was so tough on me that I hated going to practice.”

Whether it was in the classroom or on the field, Allen was always preparing students and players for future challenges. “He didn’t only teach me about things in the game of football, but in life as well,” said Rodriguez.

As most mentors, teachers and coaches, Allen made a significant impact on the lives of many of his students and players. “He believed in me when it was hard to believe in myself and I will never forget the characteristics he instilled into me,” said Rodriguez.

Allen is survived by his wife, Sharon Allen who is a nurse in the WCUSD school district.

Services for Allen will be held on Friday at the church on 1023 North Glendora Ave in Covina at 5:00 pm.

This year, Bulldog Country lost two students along with Allen. Losing three Bulldogs has been difficult for both students and staff. I can definitely be the one to say that this school year has taught me and many others that life is a precious gift and can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I think that we’ve all learned that we must care for our families, teachers and friends because we never know when that last blink will happen.