Larry L. Miller isn’t questioning the federal government’s assertion that Allison Fluke-Ekren, to whom he taught science in the 1990s at Topeka Collegiate School, recently led an all-female group of ISIS fighters.
“I would just like for people to know that that’s not the person I knew when I knew her,” Miller told The Capital-Journal on Monday.
Miller, who is retired and lives south of Topeka at Wakarusa, said he’d been shocked to learn federal charges had been filed against Fluke-Ekren, 42.
Miller said she went by her maiden name of Allison Brooks when she attended Topeka Collegiate School from about 1993 to about 1995.
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Topeka teacher was Allison Fluke-Ekren’s wedding photographer
Fluke-Ekren later hired Miller to be her wedding photographer, then kept in touch with him until about 2010, when she last emailed him from Egypt, he said.
Miller remains one of Fluke-Ekren’s 51 Facebook friends today, as is indicated on her Facebook page, where she last put a post in 2008 to announce she was moving to Egypt.
“Never would any of us who knew her back then ever thought she would end up as she has today,” Miller said.
Miller provided The Capital-Journal a photo taken during her teenaged years showing Fluke-Ekren smiling as she posed beneath a waterfall during one of many field trips on which she assisted him.
Miller provided other media outlets a photo of his showing Fluke-Ekren as a teenager holding a great plains skink.
“She caught it,” he said. “She was proud of that, and I took the picture.”
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Teacher, student didn’t discuss religion
Miller said he never discussed religion with Fluke-Ekren.
“I didn’t talk to students about religion,” he said.
Miller said it became clear to him that Fluke-Ekren was his former student when one of her classmates emailed him a Los Angeles Times story sharing information that made that obvious.
Miller said he taught from 1991 to 2001 at Topeka College, where Fluke-Ekren took classes from him in seventh and eighth grade.
Fluke-Ekren’s love for learning made her stand out, Miller said.
“She was good at everything,” he said.
Miller said that he and his wife, Suzanne Miller, a librarian who died at age 74 in March 2020, were friends with Fluke-Ekren’s parents, though he wasn’t willing to share their identities.
Fluke-Ekren was a “very pleasant young lady” who “liked a lot of the same things we liked,” including photography and nature, Miller said.
Later, as a student at Topeka High, Fluke-Ekren continued to help Miller with photography projects and science classes he taught in the summer, he said.
Miller said it was his understanding that Fluke-Ekren graduated from high school and college in this area.
A Lawrence Journal-World article published in 2004 told of how she was home schooling her childre
Miller said Fluke-Ekren then emailed him on Feb. 23, 2008. He’s kept the email, which he said told him things he was proud to read.
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Allison Fluke-Ekren told teacher she was married with four kids
Fluke-Ekren’s email said she was married with four children, enjoying a wonderful family life and completing a master of arts degree in teaching at Earlhan College in Richmond, Ind.
She expressed appreciation to Miller for having taught her about science.
Miller said she ended the email by writing, “My biggest hope is that I can pass on to my students the torch of curiosity and excitement that you gave to me.”
Miller said Fluke-Ekren reached out to him later, at a time when he was teaching at Northern Hills Junior High School, and asked if he knew of any teaching opportunities in the area. He said he know of one availability in an area school district, and told her about it.
He said he understood that she subsequently applied and was accepted for that job. but ultimately decided to instead move overseas to Egypt.
Allison Fluke-Ekren said she enjoyed living in Egypt
Fluke-Ekren very much enjoyed living in Egypt, where she had been teaching, Miller said.
Miller said he wrote “Happy Birthday” to Fluke-Ekren on her Facebook page on her birthday not long ago, but never heard back.
Fluke-Ekren’s Facebook friends once included many of her classmates but almost all of those names are now gone, Miller said.
“I don’t know why,” he said.
