My first impression of Randon was pretty funny. I walked into my monthly Golden Apple meeting and I saw him sitting down with a St. Louis Blues hat on. I thought to myself, “Oh, he is one of those Illinois people that are into St. Louis sports.” That is secretly one of my pet peeves since I am from right outside the city of Chicago. I asked my friend Andrea who the heck this guy was, and she told me is name. I related to him, because his name is pretty unique and so is mine. I also noticed he had on a U-High pullover, and one of my friends attended U-High. So my shy self built up a little courage to talk to this St. Louis U-High boy and asked if he knew my friend. Fast-forward to now, Randon and myself are both members of the Executive board for Golden Apple. Randon is one of my great friends now, and I hope you like learning about him as much as I did!
Name: Randon Recker
Hometown: Dunlap, IL
Major: Special Ed LBS
Minor: Mathematics
Role Model: Abraham Lincoln
Favorite Netflix Addiction: The 100, How I met Your Mother
Her Campus: Can you describe Illinois State in three words for me?
Randon Recker: Creating friends & futures.
HC: Can you describe yourself in three words?
RR: I am determined, trustworthy, and caring.
HC: What is your goal for this semester?
RR: My goal is to keep a good GPA.
HC: What do you like about ISU?
RR: ISU has a great emphasis on education.
HC: What is your favorite spot on campus?
RR: 6th floor of Milner.
HC: What made you want to become a teacher?
RR: I will have the ability to show students to see their maximum potential.
HC: How did you find out about the Golden Apple Scholarship?
RR: I found out about Golden Apple by random Internet searches.
HC: What does Golden Apple mean to you?
RR: Golden Apple is a fantastic opportunity to rejuvenate my passion for teaching every summer, as well as a great network for professional development and incredible resources for my career.
HC: What has been your favorite memory from Golden Apple so far?
RR: In my first summer I worked in a special education ESY classroom with a student named Artez, he had lived a hard life and he was only in 6th grade. His dad was in jail for life and his mom worked multiple jobs because of this he was not very nice to other students, starting fights to gain attention, and often became violent to men because he did not trust them. By the end of the 5 weeks Artez and I would stand outside the door together and he would greet everyone with a hug or a high five and a big smile. On the very last day when I told him I had to go he wouldn’t let go of my hand and finally asked him if I could be his dad and he could move in with me. This memory will shape my future as an educator because it taught me not to listen to the stigmas carried with each student but to look at the student for who they are and what they want to become.
HC: How does being in the Golden Apple Scholar program help you in the future?
RR: Golden Apple has provided me with the opportunity to work in schools much earlier than many of my peers giving me the confidence to walk into a classroom and not be shy or timid.
HC: What are some of your hobbies?
RR: I enjoy fishing and wakeboarding.
HC: What RSOs are you involved in here at ISU?
RR: Golden Apple ISU and KDE.
HC: How long have you been involved in those RSOs?
RR: 2 years!
HC: Why did you join those 2 organizations?
RR: I joined these RSOs to further my development as an educator.
HC: What is your favorite part of each RSO?
RR: The community that each organization creates.
HC: How else are you involved on campus?
RR: I volunteer as a football coach at U-High during the fall season.
Golden Apple is such a blessing – it brings people together from all over the state of Illinois.
If you are more interested in learning about Golden Apple, check out the website: http://www.goldenapple.org
Our ISU Chapter of Golden Apple’s Website is: https://goldenappleisu.com
Thank you to Randon for letting us interview him and share his story!