Between a parking center and a condominium complex on a placid street in downtown Evanston, away from the racing cars coming down Clark street and merriment of children as their parents walk them into the zoo, a white sign next to a polychromatic array of flowers reads—in big, black block letters—the name of Beacon Academy, a five-year-old Montessori-based high school. Passing a garden and the “One Rotary Center,” former Middle and Intermediate School Dean of Student Life at Parker Siobhan Allen beams, thrilled to greet her advisory.

Allen, who worked at Parker in a myriad of capacities for twelve years including as Intermediate and Middle School Coordinator, soccer coach, advisor, and Dean of Student Life, now serves as the Dean of Students at Beacon. She is conspicuously absent from the sidelines during Parker girls’ soccer games this season as she now coaches Beacon’s first soccer team in school history.

Allen anticipates significant growth in Beacon’s budding soccer program. “It reminds me of when I first started coaching at Parker,” Allen said, referring to coaching the Parker girls’ soccer team in 2007. “The players were liking the sport, wanting to do something athletic but learning the game. The soccer IQ isn’t where it is at Parker, but that takes time to learn and grow.”

Meanwhile, at Parker, as the girls’ soccer season begins, her absence from the sidelines is noticeable. “Sio was the perfect mix of compassion and intensity,” junior and girls’ soccer captain Senna Gardner said. “She always pushed us to be better and cared about the wellbeing and success of the team above all. I miss her presence on the sideline so much.”

Junior and goalkeeper for last year’s girls’ varsity soccer team Lauryn Rauschenberger agrees. “There were a few times during games when I thought about leaving,” Rauschenberger said. “A goal would get scored, and the defense would look at you like it’s your fault. You get to the sidelines, and she convinced me that I still loved the sport.”

Coaching the soccer team is far from Allen’s sole responsibility at Beacon. Allen leads an advisory every morning followed by, on most mornings, teaching a freshman class on wellness. She oversees the entire advisory program and helps plan class trips and other end-of-the-year events. According to Allen, her daily routine is “not terribly different” from hers at Parker but involves older students. “There’s that saying: ‘bigger kids, bigger problems,’ and I think that there is truth in that,” Allen said. “In dealing with kids not doing well academically, discipline issues, or maybe family things that are going on, it becomes a little more complicated with students having greater independence. Professional growth for me has been navigating those conversations.”

As many of Allen’s former colleagues navigate similar conversations at Parker, they frequently converse with her. Eighth Grade Team Assistant and head coach of the girls’ varsity soccer team Patrick Stanton talks with Allen weekly and occasionally biweekly. “We talk about something either soccer related or some inside joke,” Stanton said about Allen. “She gives me guidance about the girls’ soccer team. I would look to Coach Siobhan as one of the top two people to bounce a situation off of or if I just want to find out if Tristan is still looking adorable or see what Duke is up to these days. That is her son and dog.”

Several Parker teachers miss Allen, and she naturally has nostalgia for her time at Parker. “Being able to take a break and go to the zoo when you want to and having a soccer field or playground around to blow off some steam are things that I definitely miss,” Allen said.

Allen’s wistfulness extends beyond geography. “One thing I miss about Parker is seeing a variety of age levels, the turtles, and the tortoise in the science room,” Allen said. “The reality is that I spent a third of my life at Parker. Not seeing your Parker friends, colleagues, and kids that you enjoy being around, of course, is different.”

Although Allen misses working in Lincoln Park, Evanston has opened up a new realm of possibilities for her, giving her the opportunity to meet with different researchers at Northwestern researchers. She still hopes that Beacon vs. Parker soccer games will bring her back to Lincoln Park. While Beacon’s girls’ soccer team is unlikely to face off against Parker in the near future, as the program grows, the team will likely play Parker, and a familiar presence will return to the sidelines as if she never left.