![]() ![]() "It's really an honor to be able to get up and tell stories for a living," he says. Teaching history, he says, is really just a matter of telling stories. Disney movies from the 1950s-such as Davy Crockett-piqued his interest in the Old West and the American Revolution. "His style of teaching made me fall in love with history again."Īllen, a native of Ellensburg, discovered early in life that he loved history. "Even though he has taught this subject time and time again, his enthusiasm for it is infectious, like a good storyteller who cannot wait to get to the really good parts of the tale," says Mark Dodson, a graduate student at UWT who took Allen's American history course. It's a teaching style that Allen calls "lively." His students call it refreshing. During magic shows, his energy brings a smile to everyone who watches-and in the classroom, that same energy sparks a hunger for history among his students. His act is popular at UWT events, where he twists long balloons into animals and pulls dollar coins from the ears of students. Nearly everyone at UW Tacoma knows that Allen-a seemingly mild-mannered history professor in the interdisciplinary arts and sciences program-occasionally dons a blue sequined vest and black top hat to become Mike the Magician, purveyor of tricks that mystify and delight. ![]() The problem is, it's not really a secret. Professor Mike Allen has a secret identity. ![]()
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