When Assistant Head of School Ryan Allen ‘95 co-chaired the Young Alumni Committee at Latin and organized an event in February 2004, he never expected to meet his future wife, Andrea Duran ‘99.
Ms. Duran knew of Mr. Allen in high school. He was famous in her friend group for being everyone’s hallway crush. Mr. Allen, however, never knew of her.
After connecting at the alumni event on February 12, the two immediately hit it off and went on a dinner date.
As their love for each other grew, so did their love for Latin. Mr. Allen said one of his favorite moments in their relationship was “going to games as a family” this school year.
Since high school, attending games at Latin has always been important to the Allens. While they were dating, Mr. Allen coached Latin basketball, so they would always attend the Latin vs. Parker basketball game together.
“I love that Latin makes the big game kind of an alumni thing, because we both love sports, and it is a reason to come back,” Mrs. Allen said in a recent interview.
After six years of dating and joking with Ms. Duran about when she was going to propose to him, Mr. Allen finally popped the question on August 29, 2010, after a night-in watching the Golden Globes.
He made the same joke one last time, asking her when she was going to propose to him, and when she said, “That’s not how that works,” Mr. Allen said, “Is this how it works?” He then promptly pulled out the ring and asked her to marry him.
Their wedding was on July 9, 2011.
“It was a full collaboration of things that we love,” Mrs. Allen said. “We worked on it together, and we made it very different than most people make their weddings.”
The Allens held their one-of-a-kind wedding at Soldier Field because of their shared love for football. Unfortunately, their substantial planning didn’t go entirely as planned.
“The one funny wedding story we have is that we had wedding crashers,” Mr. Allen said. The crashers found the party at Soldier Field. They used the name “Tom” as an alias but were easily caught and kicked out of the wedding.
Now as parents, Mr. and Mrs. Allen understand the importance of embracing the unexpected. Nonetheless, Latin remains a comforting constant.
The Allens decided to send their children, second grader Caenen and third grader Grae, to Latin’s Lower School when Mr. Allen accepted a position at the school in 2023. They hoped their children would have the same impactful Latin experience, building lifelong connections.
“Having both gone [to Latin], even though it was different times, amplified our connection because we share more experiences,” Mrs. Allen said.
Mr. Allen added, “I think for me, going to Latin was a great experience, though there were some stones untouched, and I wanted to help young kids like me navigate the school.”
For current Middle School Dean and Latin alum Richard Dickinson ‘98, Mr. Allen was a role model.
“Mr. Allen was like a big brother to me,” Dr. Dickinson said. “[Latin] was different way back in the day, and there was not as much of a focus on student belonging and safe spaces. Mr. Allen was a safe space for younger me.”
Dr. Dickinson, who also attended Latin for his whole life, knew Mrs. Allen well as they were only a grade apart. “It makes my heart full to see her children running around as I can remember when she was the age of her children,” he said.
As the Allen children continue to grow, they will continue to follow into their parents’ footsteps.
“My hope for the kids is that they are able to build the same connections as we did for the long haul and for them to still be adults and have a strong connection to Latin,” Mrs. Allen said.
