2008 Woodie Awards
Professor Profile: Bert Allen
Daniel Wallen
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Features
|
The motion picture is a Stanley Kubrick film concerning the "grotesque nature of war," according to Allen.
For Allen, professor of psychology, this film is very relevant to his life.
He was drafted in June 1968 and, just before Christmas of that year, was sent to Vietnam.
Allen said that he is very blessed to be a survivor.
"Those close to me were killed in Vietnam," he said.
Although he feels that the war was terrible and grotesque, Allen still acknowledges that some good came out of it.
He believes that most everything he does in life is a ministry and an opportunity to give back for being allowed to live.
"I was a killer, an artilleryman," Allen said. "I know I am forgiven, but I am every day compensating for killing God's children. I went from being a boy to being a man, from a self-centered individual to being a part of something larger."
Allen has been teaching at Milligan for 29 years, where he was first a student from 1963-1967. He graduated with two Bachelor of Arts degrees, having majored in both English and history.
He spent much of his time under car hoods and racing at the Bristol Dragway and circular tracks.
"I enjoyed life as a student too much and too often," he said.
One night, Allen and some of his friends were out stealing signs at the end of a bridge in Carter County. A car drove by and they panicked, thinking it was the police.
For students who may find themselves in a similar situation, Allen offers advice.
"Know the height you are off from the ground before jumping into the darkness," he said.
After graduating from Milligan, Allen went on to law school, after one semester, he dropped out.
"I hated law school and I was very scared of public grilling by my professors," he said.
It was then that Allen was drafted for the war. When he returned home,
Allen was not certain what he wanted to do, so he began substitute teaching simply to make money.
Allen went on to teach at an elementary school in Pennsylvania. He was prompted to study counseling after realizing that his students had issues other than academic problems.
He then went to graduate school at the University of Maryland and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He received a master's degree in counseling and a doctorate in psychology.
Be the first to comment on this story