By SANDRA THAMES / Community Columnist

Karri Lingo Allen was born in Birmingham to parents Randolph and Darla Lingo. A 1989 graduate of Bessemer Academy, Allen graduated from the University of Montevallo with her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 1994.

Creek View Elementary has always been her school home.

As a leader, Allen has stringent goals for her class and herself, but this school year (her 18th), she was chosen as Creek View’s Teacher of the Year.

This honor is by nomination and voting among her fellow teachers. Allen’s style of teaching, her values, her drive and determination for each child’s success, involvement with school activities and furthering her educational objectives earned her the respect and vote of her peers.

Allen married John Allen in 1993 and would have celebrated 20 years of marriage last year. However, in February of 2012, doctors discovered a mass in John’s chest.

Knowing that it was cancer, the Allen family traveled to M. D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston for a more “focused diagnosis.”

Aggressive treatment was not successful and the Lord called him home in July 2012. For Karri, this was surely the largest loss and trial of her life.

Nowadays Allen finds her strength in God, her church friends at Evangel Presbyterian and her joy in being mom to son Jonathan, age 10, a fourth grader at Thompson Intermediate School. Flag football is their new interest and mom and son enjoy the beach, movies and their four dogs.

“My goal as a teacher is to make learning fun and build a foundation not only of academics but also of respect for others,” Allen said. “I love to come to work everyday and see the excitement on the childrens’ faces as they are actively engaged in the learning process.”

Life has not been a bed of roses for Karri Allen, but her vivaciousness, ready smile and open love for her students and the teaching process are obvious to everyone.