September 18, 2024 • 30 mins
What if your high school teachers were once students sitting in the same classrooms as you?
Join Amanda Bauer and special guest host Mr. Vance Sarlow as we celebrate Randolph alumni who have returned as educators and staff, bringing their unique journeys full circle.
In The Alumni. Part 2., we welcome Mrs. Nathalie Woodruff, Coach John Flores, Coach Briana Gomez, and Student Teacher/Coach Deshaun Borders.
Their narratives highlight the importance of fostering a strong sense of community and cherishing those fleeting high school years. You'll hear heartfelt advice for the current students on making the most of this special time in their lives.
We also explore the powerful pull of Randolph that brings people back, like our guests who returned to their roots after years away.
Each of our guests emphasize the unity, support, and lasting bonds within the Randolph community, highlighting the importance of cherishing every stage of life. Tune in for a nostalgic and inspiring celebration of Randolph's enduring legacy and the people who continue to help make it so special.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the official podcast of Randolph
Field Independent SchoolDistrict.
We are Randolph.
This is our story.
Tune in on the third Wednesdayof each month and join our host,
amanda Bauer, director ofCommunity Engagement and Public
Relations, as she visits withspecial guests from the Randolph
community, and don't miss theRandolph trivia portion of each
(00:22):
episode.
We've got cool swag and itcould be yours.
Subscribe, download, share anddefinitely listen as we tell our
story.
Welcome back to part two of ourspecial Homecoming Alumni
(00:58):
Podcast episode, featuring manysegments of interviews with
former Randolph students whohave now returned to work in the
district.
As a reminder, mr Sarlo, ourRandolph High School theater
teacher, is serving as a guesthost for this episode, so I am
going to turn it back over tohim as we continue with part two
(01:18):
.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
We are here with our next guest, Natalie Woodruff,
who I knew as Natalie Goad whenshe was here as a student.
Welcome, Natalie.
Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Can you tell us a little bit about when you were
here at Randolph as a student?
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Sure.
So I was here kindergartenthrough second grade and then
back six through 12.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And what year did you graduate?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
2009.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
2009.
Fantastic, and what is yourcurrent role here?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I am a part of the technology department.
As the technology assistant Irun help desk and all of the
inventory for the district.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
But you didn't start in the technology department,
did you?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I did not.
I came in 2019 as an inclusionaid in the SAC room.
In 2021, I was moved over intothe technology department and
I've been there ever since.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
When you were a student here, did you ever
imagine that one day you wouldwork for Randolph?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Can't say that I did when I was in school.
I did want to be a teacher, butI never imagined that I would
be coming back to my alma mater,so it's been pretty cool to um
see people coming and going andsee the people that I went to
school with that have come backas well.
Um, and it's pretty rewardingto see the kids coming through.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So as as a student and now kind of looking back on
things, now we have homecomingcoming up.
Yeah.
Did you or do you have afavorite Randolph homecoming
tradition?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, and so we used to have a parade around the base
, which was really cool becausewe would go all the way around
the base.
Everybody would line thestreets and all the you know the
homecoming court and all thesporting events that were
happening throughout you know,that season.
They all had floats and theyall had different.
You know, we got really coolold cars that the court got to
(03:19):
ride in and all of those things,and we would go around the base
and kids just thought it wasthe coolest thing ever.
You know all of those thingsand we would go around the base
and kids just thought it was thecoolest thing ever, you know.
So after we went all the wayaround the base, we would end up
back up at the Taj for thehomecoming pep rally, which it
was pretty cool because, I mean,it wasn't just students, it was
parents and younger siblingsand teachers, and everybody was
(03:39):
there.
Like if you weren't there, youbetter have a good excuse.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
So it felt like an entire community coming out.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Yeah, yeah, you know you, you as a military kid
there's so many opportunitieswhere you just don't have the
chance to get that small townfeel that a lot of these kids
that grow up in the surroundingareas have, and so it was just a
really cool experience and so Ithink Randolph has always done
a really good job of justbringing that small town feel
and that community feel toeverything, especially sports,
(04:10):
but everything I mean anyextracurriculars, I feel.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I think I agree, element of the small town, but
we have the benefit of being ina city where there are other
things you know going on andthat our students can experience
out there as well.
But here there is definitely asense of community.
So during your time here as astudent was was there a teacher
or or I guess it could beteachers were there any teachers
(04:41):
that were particularlyinfluential for you or that were
your favorites maybe?
And what about them?
Made that?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
college and so I think it's safe to say she had a
bond with pretty much all of usin that class just because we
were her babies.
So another one that I can thinkof is her mentor teacher, ms
Colglazier.
She was really important to alot of us in my class.
She was kind of like a mamaduck.
You always went to MsColglazier if you had an issue
and she was just very easy tounderstand, very easy to talk to
and always making sure that weall knew what we were doing.
(05:28):
And then obviously, coachMiller I think he is top tier
favorite 100%.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, All of those very influential, I mean every
one of them makes sense.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
And of course Mike Miller.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
He doesn't work here full time, but there are people
that didn't really work with himthat know him and love him and
appreciate him and admire him,and so it's just, he's a staple.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, natalie, last question for you.
Do you have any final thoughtsthat you would like to share
with the Randolph community as awhole?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I think, just gratitude, to be honest with you
, just gratitude for, especiallyas a parent, also to kids that
go to Randolph, just gratitudefor kids always being welcomed
in and taking care of, no matterwhat the circumstances are, and
just knowing that they've gotparents all around them rather
than just, you know, teachers,they've got a family around them
(06:28):
.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Thank you, Natalie, for joining us.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Thank you so much for having me.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I want to welcome our next guest, Mr John Flores.
Thank you so much for comingout today.
We appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Tell us about when you came to Randolph as a
student.
How long were you here?
Speaker 5 (06:49):
I got here in either 1997 or 1998.
I don't remember exactly.
I was in second grade, so Iwent from second grade all the
way through my senior year andgraduated in 2007.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And then something brought you back to Randolph as
an employee?
Speaker 5 (07:06):
Yes, so I was.
I was actually at the youthcenter for I don't even know, I
don't know six years or so maybe, and a spot at the elementary
school opened up for elementaryPE.
So I did that for a year andthere those teachers are saints.
That is plenty of time to be atthe elementary school.
(07:26):
And then, 14-15 school year, Icame to the secondary.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
And we have homecoming coming up pretty soon
.
So do you have any memoriesabout homecoming from when you
were a student that stand outfor you, or do you maybe have
any homecoming traditions thatyou think are the best?
Speaker 5 (07:44):
It's a good question.
I think I'm going to kind ofsay something now and then
something from when.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I was here.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
I really like the big district pep rally now.
So that's, just a really funhour out there with I don't know
600, 700 kids.
It's just a really funenvironment.
I think it helps build thecommunity a little better.
Kids, it's just a really funenvironment.
I think it helps build thecommunity a little better.
What I always look forward towhen I was in high school, which
you guys probably remember toothe decorating the hallways.
Well, yeah, that was alwaysjust you could, I mean, with it
(08:17):
within reason, obviously, youcould just be silly and kind of
do whatever you yeah wanted todo, and then there's a little
competition between all theclasses and that was just always
something I look forward to.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
So you know what they did during that time is each
class like, for example, thefreshman class, the sophomore
class, the junior class?
Each class would have a certainhallway this was in the old
school building that we had hereand each there were kind of
core classes that were in eachone of those hallways.
So each grade level wasdesignated hallway and they had
(08:47):
a theme to decorate theirhallway and they would put
construction paper and lightsand things hanging from the
ceiling and there would be kindof faculty judges that would go
around with their clipboards andpick the winners and they won.
I don't know if they won.
Did they win actual stuff?
Bragging rights probably.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
Probably bragging rights and some donuts or
something.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
But yeah, it was definitely something and these
kids would work hard on this.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
You just got to go and take pictures and videos and
that was always a big one wewould do for the hallways at
homecomings.
That was always a lot of fun.
Do you have a favorite?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
or most influential teacher from your time at
Randolph.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Ooh, that's they're.
I mean, even now, I still, eventhough I'm going to include
them with it, I think we havethe best teachers around.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It could be, you know , your top three, top five,
whatever, whatever pops intoyour head, whatever you got.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
They're always.
Mr Reuter is always up there,for sure.
Just because he's.
If you've been here, you mightmean you know him with his long
hair and his earrings.
That was always awesome.
Coach Gendron, that was apretty unique experience playing
for him in high school and thencoming back and coaching with
him for seven, eight years, Ithink, before he hung up his
(10:03):
basketball shoes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, andprobably coach wefts too.
Just yeah, the kind of examplethose guys shown was, I think,
probably has more influence onme than I think or even realize
right now yeah and mr wilsondefinitely the band director
director when I was here.
Yeah, same of thing.
They're just good people.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely so.
Do you have any advice for thestudents of today?
Speaker 5 (10:31):
I always tell them to just enjoy the high school life
, just hang out with yourfriends and go to football games
and, don't you know, miss outon stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So last question Do you have any final thoughts that
you would like to share for theoverall Randolph community?
Speaker 5 (10:50):
I think the biggest thing that we're and in the last
few years it's been kind of apoint of emphasis the just
building that community that'soutside of this half of
perimeter or this half of theflight line, because there's,
we're here and some people don'tknow.
So just building that communityand we're, we're the best of
(11:11):
both worlds.
We're a tiny little school in abig old city so we can have all
those different experiences andideas and just all that
diversity.
We have it all here and thoseof us that are here know like
it's.
It's pretty awesome.
So we want to keep spreadingthat out there so everybody else
knows well, coach flores, weappreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Thank you very much for coming out, thanks for
having me.
Fantastic, we'll see you.
I want to welcome our nextguest for today, brianna gomez
hi guys hi, thanks for comingout to talk to us today.
Thank.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
So, brianna, ms Gomez , you've been at Randolph for
quite some time, originally as astudent.
What years, what grades?
What brought you here?
Speaker 6 (12:06):
no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Wow, wow.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
I was one of the lucky ones.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
So that's a good point, because I would probably
say the same thing that thatdoes make you lucky.
And then you came back as ateacher.
Tell us about when you cameback and what it is you do.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
I actually started as a student teacher and then I
ended up finishing my studentteaching at the Randolph
Elementary School.
I guess I was still trying tofigure out what grades I wanted
to pursue.
Once I graduated college, aftermy student teaching was
finished, I decided I want tocome back to the high school,
and then they had a job opening,thank goodness, and I applied,
and then I'm back now.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
No, and we're grateful for that.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
You said you wanted to come back.
Yes, what made you want to comeback?
Speaker 6 (13:02):
So, being in high school, I don't think I really
thought about what I wanted todo for my career.
I got into college, I wastaking core classes and then I
had an English professor.
She had handed out anassignment.
That was who was the mostinfluential people in your lives
?
And then I had an Englishprofessor.
She had handed out anassignment that was who was the
most influential people in yourlives?
And I came back to Randolph andI talked about my teachers, my
(13:22):
coaches, and then I think, inthat moment's, when I really
knew how big of an impact theyhad on me, and so I think I knew
that I wanted to have that sameimpact on others, and so that's
kind of like how it drew meback in.
And then I of course knew thatI had to come back to Randolph
if there was an opportunity toand did you say what you're
teaching now I'm a specialeducation teacher and then I
(13:45):
coach.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I'm an assistant coach for softball and
volleyball, get to be the personthat has those impacts on
people.
When you think back on yourRandolph time and now we know
that's a long time who are someof these teachers?
Or is there a teacher that youfelt like had the greatest
impact?
It might be more than one, butif there was somebody or some
folks that had the greatestimpact on you when you were back
(14:10):
thinking about that essay andit could be a different answer
now.
Right.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Well, I'm going to start with you, mr Sarlo.
You were great.
Gosh, there's so many that Icould think of.
I know Coach Pache, coach Ortiz, they played a big impact, or
they had a big impact on me,miss Hamilton.
Gosh, there's so many.
There are so many.
I'm trying to think of all ofthem Coach Basir, Coach Grace,
(14:35):
Mr Ritter yeah, I know I'mforgetting somebody.
I feel like now I'm naming theentire staff at Randolph.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I was going to say we got a great staff.
I feel honored to be on thatall-star team you just built.
So do you have a favoritememory as a Randolph student?
Oh my goodness, there's so manyI feel like when I think of
(15:08):
good memories, I just go back tothe sport aspect of it, like
game days, road trips, teambonding, team dinners.
It from then too, we havehomecoming coming up right.
Speaker 6 (15:15):
So excited, are you?
Yes, I love homecoming.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
See, that's great.
Okay, because that fits.
That's great, because what I'mgoing to ask you about is
homecoming traditions.
Are there homecoming traditionsthat you like, that you love,
that you value?
The fact that you say you loveit means that there's something
there for you.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Yes, I love Spirit Week, dressing up, pep rallies,
the homecoming pep rallies itwas always a lot of fun.
I would say, like the biggestthing is probably moms, because
not everyone does them.
I remember being in high schooland there are people come in
from all over the world and I'dbe like, yeah, like let's make
our moms.
And they're like what are moms?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
All right, moms, and they're like what are moms?
All right, my last question foryou today is do you have any
final thoughts for the randolphcommunity as as a whole?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
yeah, I think, as a student, being a former student,
I, if I had like advice to givethem, I would say, like, just
take it all in, like live in themoment.
I feel like normally we're soexcited for the next thing and
so like, if I had someone totell me like to just live in the
moment, that's what I wouldtell them.
I feel like when you're inelementary school, you can't
wait to get to middle school.
When you're in middle school,you can't wait to get to high
(16:24):
school, and then, when you'rehigh school, you cannot wait to
get to college, and then, like,before you know it, like it's
all over.
So like, oh my god, I emotional, but yeah, like, I would just
say, like, live in the moment.
If I had to tell anyone that Imean me, I missed it so much.
I'm now back.
So, yeah, randolph is a greatplace to be and I'm so thankful
and grateful that I'm here.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Yeah, no, that's great, Thank you.
Thank you for coming out andsharing your thoughts.
We would greatly appreciate you, ms Gilman.
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Lots.
We greatly appreciate you, MsGomez.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Thank you for having me.
Now I want to welcome our nextguest, Mr Deshaun Borders.
Deshaun, thanks for coming outtoday.
Thank you for having me.
This is exciting and we'reexcited to have you because, as
(17:16):
currently and I know you'regoing to get to tell us a
little- bit about this, but youare probably our youngest, most
recent graduate to be on ourshow, right, and so we're
excited about that kind of adifferent perspective, a more
recent perspective.
So before we get too far intothat, let's talk about before
right.
Tell us about the years and thegrades that you were here at
Randolph.
Speaker 7 (17:33):
Okay, so we're gonna go back further.
So my family first moved herein 2011.
My dad got stationed in SanAntonio, so I was at the
elementary school for like ayear and a half.
I was there in third grade andfourth grade, and then we moved
to New Mexico for a couple ofyears and then we came back in
2015.
And I started in eighth gradeand then I graduated from
Randolph in 2020.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
All right.
So the second time around fiveyears, all in a row, from eighth
grade all the way through Right, all right, fantastic.
And then you've recently comeback.
Tell us about that experienceand how that came to be.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
So I knew when I got to college I wanted to do
teaching, wanted to coach.
So, you know, did everything wehad to do to get there.
And then in January I reachedout to Dr Malone to see if it
would be possible for me to dostudent teaching at Randolph,
because it wasn't a school onthe list of schools at Texas A&M
, san Antonio.
And so I reached out and hesaid we'd love to have you.
So I had to do a lot ofpaperwork, a lot of, you know,
(18:25):
asking different people signthings for me to get it all
going.
But we got it all worked out.
So in around July I found outthat it would be okay to do my
student teaching at Randolph,and then Coach Ortiz also said
it'd be okay for me to coach aswell too.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
So there were a significant amount of extra
steps you had to take to makethat even happen.
Correct, because you wanted it.
You wanted to come back.
I didn't want to come back.
So what was it about, randolph,that made you want to come back
?
I?
Speaker 7 (18:48):
just when I was here.
Those five years from eighthgrade to my senior year, those
were I had a great time.
I ran off.
Some of my closest friends metthem here, still talk to them
almost every day, so like andthen like, obviously a lot of
the teachers here helped guideme to where I was, because when
(19:09):
I got back to Randolph in eighthgrade I wasn't quite sure what
I wanted to do.
And so having Coach Ford liketake me under his wing and he
was really really nice to me andkind of helped guide me to like
you should want to go tocollege, you should want to do a
lot of different things, thathelped me.
And then Ms Montez, my junioryear.
She was like I think you'd be areally good teacher, and then
that sent me down that path ofwanting to try to teach.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
And so for me it was like if I could do that to
another kid, come back here sothose teachers kind of instilled
on you the fact that you couldmake a difference and you could
do this exactly.
Yeah, and so and I know youkind of touched on it, but is,
(19:46):
was there a favorite teacher ora most influential teacher?
Speaker 7 (19:50):
uh, yeah, coach forrest was probably one of the
biggest influences here myentire time, from eighth grade
to my senior year always therewhen I had questions or if I
needed advice or anything likethat.
He was still a resource for meeven after I graduated from
Randolph.
I knew I could reach out to himif I had questions while I was
still in college and things likethat and then so it all worked
out really well too.
(20:10):
When he was like you want astudent teacher, I'll be your
cooperating teacher as well.
So I'm doing that with him, andthat's been quite the
experience as well.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So, going back to that time that, when you were a
student, do you have a favoritememory of your time when you
were here as a student?
Speaker 7 (20:28):
yeah, favorite memory I would say my favorite
memories would probably comefrom my time in the lunch bunch.
This was a time, uh, in highschool, where me and a bunch of
my friends would go eat lunch inCoach Forrest's classroom and
those were the times where weall got to hang out and I
thought those were the besttimes with each other, just
because it was so nice to have aplace.
(20:49):
You could go talk, eat all thatfun stuff.
You could go talk, eat all thatfun stuff, um, but the lunch
bunch was always just fun to bein because everybody thought it
was like some secret club.
But it was like just want toeat lunch and then you just come
, just some guys hanging out,that's all we were really doing.
And so people were like we wantto be the lunch bunch, you want
to be the lunch bunch, and it'slike you can come you just all
(21:17):
you got to do is bring your food.
People thought it was like aclub or something.
It's like we're not reallydoing anything.
Well, did you ever imagine thatthere would be a time or that
you would be back here in thecapacity as a teacher?
Because, again, since Randolphwasn't at the list of Texas A&M,
san Antonio, I thought thatwasn't really a possibility.
But then one of my teacherslast year she told me don't let
(21:38):
that stop you from trying to doit, and so that's why you know
that's when I reached out to seeif it was possible.
But my goal, honestly, was justat some point.
I hope that I'll be able to getback to Randolph.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
I didn't expect it to be this soon, but we're here
now, so All right.
Yeah, and I'm pretty sure it'sa common sentiment is we're glad
to see you back, we're glad tosee you.
I appreciate that.
Thank you, the.
So let's go back down memorylane for a little bit for you.
What about homecoming?
You know homecoming is comingup.
Do you have a favorite memoryor favorite homecoming tradition
regarding your time at Randolph?
Speaker 7 (22:17):
For me.
I played football in highschool so obviously homecoming
was always a big game for thefootball players.
We always wanted to make sureif we win any game this year, it
has to be the homecoming game Iwould say the favorite thing
about homecoming.
It's going to sound kind ofcrazy, but Coach West would
always tell us the same storyevery single year on homecoming
and it was making sure that wetreated the girls we went out
(22:37):
with very politely Every yearwithout fail on homecoming.
He would tell us the story onthe Saturday of the actual dance
.
So I think that was probably myfavorite thing.
But something I'm lookingforward to is I've heard the
homecoming pep rally has gottenactually pretty big here at
Randolph, so I'm looking forwardto seeing what that looks like
here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's a district pep rally, right, so even the
younger kids come over andparticipate in all of that and
it's a lot of fun.
So last question Well, okay, soit's sort of I guess it's sort
of two questions.
The first one is do you haveany advice for current students?
Speaker 7 (23:17):
My biggest advice for current students is to just
enjoy your time here.
I feel like Randolph is a reallyspecial place and I feel like
our teachers really do a greatjob of showing that they care
about you outside of theirclassroom, where they want you
to succeed and do a lot ofdifferent things and really
encourage you to try to likemake the most of your time here.
And I feel like at differentschools that I've been at, when
I've been like observing or just, you know, subbing other things
(23:38):
like that.
I haven't seen that as much asI've seen that here at Randolph.
So I feel like Randolph's areally special place where the
teachers are putting that extrastep in to show you that, hey,
I'm gonna go to your gamebecause you asked me to go to
your game.
I'm gonna think that goes along way in showing that the
students that we care and thatwe want them to be successful in
all the things that they'redoing and not necessarily just
being, hey, you're in myclassroom, I don't really care
(23:59):
about you when you're in myclassroom.
I think that goes a long wayfor us.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Is there anything that you would like to say or
you wish that the community as awhole, any thoughts you'd want
to share with them as a whole?
Speaker 7 (24:10):
I would think the biggest thing is I just like
that the environment feels sofriendly and very like family
oriented here, and I think thatstarts with everybody, right?
That's not just the teachers,not a staff or anything.
That's everybody that'sinvolved at Randolph.
You can I feel like I can nevergo past someone who doesn't
wave to me after a game parents,students you know everyone's hi
.
How are you doing Things likethat?
(24:31):
But I think that's just.
It just goes a long way, thisfeeling that you feel welcomed
at a place, and I feel like themore we keep doing that, the
more you know students andteachers are going to want to be
here and want to come back,because I feel like that's a
real thing that we built here.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Fantastic.
Thank you very much to SeanBorders for joining us today.
We really appreciate you, thankyou.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Well, this brings us to the conclusion of today's
very special alumni employeepodcast episode.
Mr Sarlo, thank you again forbeing the guest host for us
today.
I have been sitting in, ofcourse, for each of these
sessions and this has been sucha treat for me to get to hear
I'm sure you feel the same waybut just to get to hear all of
(25:12):
these former students who noware employees talk about the
pride that they felt, not onlyas students but now, so much so
that many of them waited yearsand years for the right
opportunity, were you kind ofsurprised, I was.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
I think that you're right that there are some folks
a number of them mentioned thatwaiting for the opportunity,
waiting, waiting, and meaningthat there was something that
was in their minds pulling themback that they really wanted to
be back here and that it was amatter of you know when that
opportunity would arise, right,and I think that's fantastic.
(25:49):
I really had a good time.
I had a good time getting tohear some of these stories and,
yes, there are certain themesthat sort of kind of keep coming
back in.
And it's like hey, that meansthat our district has been doing
something.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
That's right and I think one of the things that
stood out most, one word thatcame out over and over again,
again, when they were eachtalking about Randolph and our
community is special and I dogenuinely believe that any of us
who have worked here or, in thecases of these students who
went to school here, we allidentify with that phrase as a
(26:26):
descriptor of Randolph, becauseit really is a special place and
sometimes it's hard toarticulate what it is about
Randolph or why, what is specialabout Randolph, but I think
it's everything it's the people,it's the community, it's the
pride, it's the sense of this ishome.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah, there's something about our not only the
staff but also the studentsthat is very, I think, welcoming
to those kids that transfer in,and so I think you're right, I
think that helps.
It brings a sense of comfortand a sense of home.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah, familiarity.
Yeah, it's really interesting,you're right.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
We've heard a lot about that and the special
aspects of what it is thathappens here.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Yes, and one thing that has come up a lot in
regards to when you've askedthem about maybe one of their
favorite homecoming traditions,one of the newer traditions that
we started a few years ago, isthis all-district pep rally.
A few years ago is thisall-district pep rally?
And I was really happy to hearseveral of them mention that,
(27:32):
because that is something thatwe have worked as a district to
really try to promote these lastfew years and help develop that
district-wide community feeling, and so, for those who don't
know, this is an annualtradition that we started a few
years ago and we typically holdthe pep rally in our stadium
either the morning of thehomecoming games or sometime
that week, and it's anopportunity.
(27:53):
We bring over some of theelementary school students, we
have our middle and high schoolstudents participating, we get
our teachers involved.
It's just a really neat timefor camaraderie.
We will have that again thisyear, very excited about it.
And, of course, the main eventsfor homecoming.
We have our homecoming eventstaking place on Friday,
september 27th this year.
We have our volleyball game.
(28:14):
Our varsity volleyball girlswill be playing at 5 pm that day
, and then our football kickofffor varsity that night is at 7
pm and we hope to see all of ourcurrent Randolph community
members, as well as all of ouralumni.
We would love to have you guys,and I just want to say one more
huge thank you to Mr Sarlo forbeing the guest host today.
You did an excellent job.
(28:35):
Is there any final message youwould like to share with the
greater Randolph community?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I think that the Randolph community has been
really good to this school overthe years.
Whether know whether you're alocal business owner or you're,
you know some of the other folksthat are on base that there are
opportunities here that that toin a lot of different ways.
It could be through our CTEprograms, it could be through
(29:02):
sponsoring some of ourextracurricular programs and
things like that, where you canstill have an impact on the
future, as in these young peoplethat are growing up, and you
can help build the bonds of thatcommunity and help continue to
make this a home.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Absolutely.
I think that's a great finalmessage.
Thank you everyone forlistening.
Please join us again for futureepisodes and remember we are
Randolph, this is our story.
Thank you for tuning in today.
(29:56):
If you have an idea, questionor trivia suggestion for a
future episode, please reach outto Amanda Bauer via email.
Come back to listen againanytime.
New episodes release on thethird Wednesday of each month.
To listen again anytime.
New episodes release on thethird Wednesday of each month.
And, as always, thank you toour guests, past, present and
future, our listeners and theentire Randolph community.
(30:17):
Remember we are Randolph, thisis our story.
Welcome to the official podcast of Randolph
Field Independent SchoolDistrict.
We are Randolph.
This is our story.
Tune in on the third Wednesdayof each month and join our host,
amanda Bauer, director ofCommunity Engagement and Public
Relations, as she visits withspecial guests from the Randolph
community, and don't miss theRandolph trivia portion of each
(00:22):
episode.
We've got cool swag and itcould be yours.
Subscribe, download, share anddefinitely listen as we tell our
story.
Welcome back to part two of ourspecial Homecoming Alumni
(00:58):
Podcast episode, featuring manysegments of interviews with
former Randolph students whohave now returned to work in the
district.
As a reminder, mr Sarlo, ourRandolph High School theater
teacher, is serving as a guesthost for this episode, so I am
going to turn it back over tohim as we continue with part two
(01:18):
.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
We are here with our next guest, Natalie Woodruff,
who I knew as Natalie Goad whenshe was here as a student.
Welcome, Natalie.
Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Can you tell us a little bit about when you were
here at Randolph as a student?
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Sure.
So I was here kindergartenthrough second grade and then
back six through 12.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
And what year did you graduate?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
2009.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
2009.
Fantastic, and what is yourcurrent role here?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I am a part of the technology department.
As the technology assistant Irun help desk and all of the
inventory for the district.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
But you didn't start in the technology department,
did you?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I did not.
I came in 2019 as an inclusionaid in the SAC room.
In 2021, I was moved over intothe technology department and
I've been there ever since.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
When you were a student here, did you ever
imagine that one day you wouldwork for Randolph?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Can't say that I did when I was in school.
I did want to be a teacher, butI never imagined that I would
be coming back to my alma mater,so it's been pretty cool to um
see people coming and going andsee the people that I went to
school with that have come backas well.
Um, and it's pretty rewardingto see the kids coming through.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So as as a student and now kind of looking back on
things, now we have homecomingcoming up.
Yeah.
Did you or do you have afavorite Randolph homecoming
tradition?
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, and so we used to have a parade around the base
, which was really cool becausewe would go all the way around
the base.
Everybody would line thestreets and all the you know the
homecoming court and all thesporting events that were
happening throughout you know,that season.
They all had floats and theyall had different.
You know, we got really coolold cars that the court got to
(03:19):
ride in and all of those things,and we would go around the base
and kids just thought it wasthe coolest thing ever.
You know all of those thingsand we would go around the base
and kids just thought it was thecoolest thing ever, you know.
So after we went all the wayaround the base, we would end up
back up at the Taj for thehomecoming pep rally, which it
was pretty cool because, I mean,it wasn't just students, it was
parents and younger siblingsand teachers, and everybody was
(03:39):
there.
Like if you weren't there, youbetter have a good excuse.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
So it felt like an entire community coming out.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Yeah, yeah, you know you, you as a military kid
there's so many opportunitieswhere you just don't have the
chance to get that small townfeel that a lot of these kids
that grow up in the surroundingareas have, and so it was just a
really cool experience and so Ithink Randolph has always done
a really good job of justbringing that small town feel
and that community feel toeverything, especially sports,
(04:10):
but everything I mean anyextracurriculars, I feel.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I think I agree, element of the small town, but
we have the benefit of being ina city where there are other
things you know going on andthat our students can experience
out there as well.
But here there is definitely asense of community.
So during your time here as astudent was was there a teacher
or or I guess it could beteachers were there any teachers
(04:41):
that were particularlyinfluential for you or that were
your favorites maybe?
And what about them?
Made that?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
college and so I think it's safe to say she had a
bond with pretty much all of usin that class just because we
were her babies.
So another one that I can thinkof is her mentor teacher, ms
Colglazier.
She was really important to alot of us in my class.
She was kind of like a mamaduck.
You always went to MsColglazier if you had an issue
and she was just very easy tounderstand, very easy to talk to
and always making sure that weall knew what we were doing.
(05:28):
And then obviously, coachMiller I think he is top tier
favorite 100%.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, All of those very influential, I mean every
one of them makes sense.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
And of course Mike Miller.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
He doesn't work here full time, but there are people
that didn't really work with himthat know him and love him and
appreciate him and admire him,and so it's just, he's a staple.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, natalie, last question for you.
Do you have any final thoughtsthat you would like to share
with the Randolph community as awhole?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I think, just gratitude, to be honest with you
, just gratitude for, especiallyas a parent, also to kids that
go to Randolph, just gratitudefor kids always being welcomed
in and taking care of, no matterwhat the circumstances are, and
just knowing that they've gotparents all around them rather
than just, you know, teachers,they've got a family around them
(06:28):
.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Thank you, Natalie, for joining us.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Thank you so much for having me.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I want to welcome our next guest, Mr John Flores.
Thank you so much for comingout today.
We appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Tell us about when you came to Randolph as a
student.
How long were you here?
Speaker 5 (06:49):
I got here in either 1997 or 1998.
I don't remember exactly.
I was in second grade, so Iwent from second grade all the
way through my senior year andgraduated in 2007.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And then something brought you back to Randolph as
an employee?
Speaker 5 (07:06):
Yes, so I was.
I was actually at the youthcenter for I don't even know, I
don't know six years or so maybe, and a spot at the elementary
school opened up for elementaryPE.
So I did that for a year andthere those teachers are saints.
That is plenty of time to be atthe elementary school.
(07:26):
And then, 14-15 school year, Icame to the secondary.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
And we have homecoming coming up pretty soon
.
So do you have any memoriesabout homecoming from when you
were a student that stand outfor you, or do you maybe have
any homecoming traditions thatyou think are the best?
Speaker 5 (07:44):
It's a good question.
I think I'm going to kind ofsay something now and then
something from when.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I was here.
Speaker 5 (07:51):
I really like the big district pep rally now.
So that's, just a really funhour out there with I don't know
600, 700 kids.
It's just a really funenvironment.
I think it helps build thecommunity a little better.
Kids, it's just a really funenvironment.
I think it helps build thecommunity a little better.
What I always look forward towhen I was in high school, which
you guys probably remember toothe decorating the hallways.
Well, yeah, that was alwaysjust you could, I mean, with it
(08:17):
within reason, obviously, youcould just be silly and kind of
do whatever you yeah wanted todo, and then there's a little
competition between all theclasses and that was just always
something I look forward to.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
So you know what they did during that time is each
class like, for example, thefreshman class, the sophomore
class, the junior class?
Each class would have a certainhallway this was in the old
school building that we had hereand each there were kind of
core classes that were in eachone of those hallways.
So each grade level wasdesignated hallway and they had
(08:47):
a theme to decorate theirhallway and they would put
construction paper and lightsand things hanging from the
ceiling and there would be kindof faculty judges that would go
around with their clipboards andpick the winners and they won.
I don't know if they won.
Did they win actual stuff?
Bragging rights probably.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
Probably bragging rights and some donuts or
something.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
But yeah, it was definitely something and these
kids would work hard on this.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
You just got to go and take pictures and videos and
that was always a big one wewould do for the hallways at
homecomings.
That was always a lot of fun.
Do you have a favorite?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
or most influential teacher from your time at
Randolph.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
Ooh, that's they're.
I mean, even now, I still, eventhough I'm going to include
them with it, I think we havethe best teachers around.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It could be, you know , your top three, top five,
whatever, whatever pops intoyour head, whatever you got.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
They're always.
Mr Reuter is always up there,for sure.
Just because he's.
If you've been here, you mightmean you know him with his long
hair and his earrings.
That was always awesome.
Coach Gendron, that was apretty unique experience playing
for him in high school and thencoming back and coaching with
him for seven, eight years, Ithink, before he hung up his
(10:03):
basketball shoes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, andprobably coach wefts too.
Just yeah, the kind of examplethose guys shown was, I think,
probably has more influence onme than I think or even realize
right now yeah and mr wilsondefinitely the band director
director when I was here.
Yeah, same of thing.
They're just good people.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely so.
Do you have any advice for thestudents of today?
Speaker 5 (10:31):
I always tell them to just enjoy the high school life
, just hang out with yourfriends and go to football games
and, don't you know, miss outon stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So last question Do you have any final thoughts that
you would like to share for theoverall Randolph community?
Speaker 5 (10:50):
I think the biggest thing that we're and in the last
few years it's been kind of apoint of emphasis the just
building that community that'soutside of this half of
perimeter or this half of theflight line, because there's,
we're here and some people don'tknow.
So just building that communityand we're, we're the best of
(11:11):
both worlds.
We're a tiny little school in abig old city so we can have all
those different experiences andideas and just all that
diversity.
We have it all here and thoseof us that are here know like
it's.
It's pretty awesome.
So we want to keep spreadingthat out there so everybody else
knows well, coach flores, weappreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Thank you very much for coming out, thanks for
having me.
Fantastic, we'll see you.
I want to welcome our nextguest for today, brianna gomez
hi guys hi, thanks for comingout to talk to us today.
Thank.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
So, brianna, ms Gomez , you've been at Randolph for
quite some time, originally as astudent.
What years, what grades?
What brought you here?
Speaker 6 (12:06):
no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Wow, wow.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
I was one of the lucky ones.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
So that's a good point, because I would probably
say the same thing that thatdoes make you lucky.
And then you came back as ateacher.
Tell us about when you cameback and what it is you do.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
I actually started as a student teacher and then I
ended up finishing my studentteaching at the Randolph
Elementary School.
I guess I was still trying tofigure out what grades I wanted
to pursue.
Once I graduated college, aftermy student teaching was
finished, I decided I want tocome back to the high school,
and then they had a job opening,thank goodness, and I applied,
and then I'm back now.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
No, and we're grateful for that.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
You said you wanted to come back.
Yes, what made you want to comeback?
Speaker 6 (13:02):
So, being in high school, I don't think I really
thought about what I wanted todo for my career.
I got into college, I wastaking core classes and then I
had an English professor.
She had handed out anassignment.
That was who was the mostinfluential people in your lives
?
And then I had an Englishprofessor.
She had handed out anassignment that was who was the
most influential people in yourlives?
And I came back to Randolph andI talked about my teachers, my
(13:22):
coaches, and then I think, inthat moment's, when I really
knew how big of an impact theyhad on me, and so I think I knew
that I wanted to have that sameimpact on others, and so that's
kind of like how it drew meback in.
And then I of course knew thatI had to come back to Randolph
if there was an opportunity toand did you say what you're
teaching now I'm a specialeducation teacher and then I
(13:45):
coach.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I'm an assistant coach for softball and
volleyball, get to be the personthat has those impacts on
people.
When you think back on yourRandolph time and now we know
that's a long time who are someof these teachers?
Or is there a teacher that youfelt like had the greatest
impact?
It might be more than one, butif there was somebody or some
folks that had the greatestimpact on you when you were back
(14:10):
thinking about that essay andit could be a different answer
now.
Right.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
Well, I'm going to start with you, mr Sarlo.
You were great.
Gosh, there's so many that Icould think of.
I know Coach Pache, coach Ortiz, they played a big impact, or
they had a big impact on me,miss Hamilton.
Gosh, there's so many.
There are so many.
I'm trying to think of all ofthem Coach Basir, Coach Grace,
(14:35):
Mr Ritter yeah, I know I'mforgetting somebody.
I feel like now I'm naming theentire staff at Randolph.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I was going to say we got a great staff.
I feel honored to be on thatall-star team you just built.
So do you have a favoritememory as a Randolph student?
Oh my goodness, there's so manyI feel like when I think of
(15:08):
good memories, I just go back tothe sport aspect of it, like
game days, road trips, teambonding, team dinners.
It from then too, we havehomecoming coming up right.
Speaker 6 (15:15):
So excited, are you?
Yes, I love homecoming.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
See, that's great.
Okay, because that fits.
That's great, because what I'mgoing to ask you about is
homecoming traditions.
Are there homecoming traditionsthat you like, that you love,
that you value?
The fact that you say you loveit means that there's something
there for you.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
Yes, I love Spirit Week, dressing up, pep rallies,
the homecoming pep rallies itwas always a lot of fun.
I would say, like the biggestthing is probably moms, because
not everyone does them.
I remember being in high schooland there are people come in
from all over the world and I'dbe like, yeah, like let's make
our moms.
And they're like what are moms?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
All right, moms, and they're like what are moms?
All right, my last question foryou today is do you have any
final thoughts for the randolphcommunity as as a whole?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
yeah, I think, as a student, being a former student,
I, if I had like advice to givethem, I would say, like, just
take it all in, like live in themoment.
I feel like normally we're soexcited for the next thing and
so like, if I had someone totell me like to just live in the
moment, that's what I wouldtell them.
I feel like when you're inelementary school, you can't
wait to get to middle school.
When you're in middle school,you can't wait to get to high
(16:24):
school, and then, when you'rehigh school, you cannot wait to
get to college, and then, like,before you know it, like it's
all over.
So like, oh my god, I emotional, but yeah, like, I would just
say, like, live in the moment.
If I had to tell anyone that Imean me, I missed it so much.
I'm now back.
So, yeah, randolph is a greatplace to be and I'm so thankful
and grateful that I'm here.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Yeah, no, that's great, Thank you.
Thank you for coming out andsharing your thoughts.
We would greatly appreciate you, ms Gilman.
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Lots.
We greatly appreciate you, MsGomez.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Thank you for having me.
Now I want to welcome our nextguest, Mr Deshaun Borders.
Deshaun, thanks for coming outtoday.
Thank you for having me.
This is exciting and we'reexcited to have you because, as
(17:16):
currently and I know you'regoing to get to tell us a
little- bit about this, but youare probably our youngest, most
recent graduate to be on ourshow, right, and so we're
excited about that kind of adifferent perspective, a more
recent perspective.
So before we get too far intothat, let's talk about before
right.
Tell us about the years and thegrades that you were here at
Randolph.
Speaker 7 (17:33):
Okay, so we're gonna go back further.
So my family first moved herein 2011.
My dad got stationed in SanAntonio, so I was at the
elementary school for like ayear and a half.
I was there in third grade andfourth grade, and then we moved
to New Mexico for a couple ofyears and then we came back in
2015.
And I started in eighth gradeand then I graduated from
Randolph in 2020.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
All right.
So the second time around fiveyears, all in a row, from eighth
grade all the way through Right, all right, fantastic.
And then you've recently comeback.
Tell us about that experienceand how that came to be.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
So I knew when I got to college I wanted to do
teaching, wanted to coach.
So, you know, did everything wehad to do to get there.
And then in January I reachedout to Dr Malone to see if it
would be possible for me to dostudent teaching at Randolph,
because it wasn't a school onthe list of schools at Texas A&M
, san Antonio.
And so I reached out and hesaid we'd love to have you.
So I had to do a lot ofpaperwork, a lot of, you know,
(18:25):
asking different people signthings for me to get it all
going.
But we got it all worked out.
So in around July I found outthat it would be okay to do my
student teaching at Randolph,and then Coach Ortiz also said
it'd be okay for me to coach aswell too.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
So there were a significant amount of extra
steps you had to take to makethat even happen.
Correct, because you wanted it.
You wanted to come back.
I didn't want to come back.
So what was it about, randolph,that made you want to come back
?
I?
Speaker 7 (18:48):
just when I was here.
Those five years from eighthgrade to my senior year, those
were I had a great time.
I ran off.
Some of my closest friends metthem here, still talk to them
almost every day, so like andthen like, obviously a lot of
the teachers here helped guideme to where I was, because when
(19:09):
I got back to Randolph in eighthgrade I wasn't quite sure what
I wanted to do.
And so having Coach Ford liketake me under his wing and he
was really really nice to me andkind of helped guide me to like
you should want to go tocollege, you should want to do a
lot of different things, thathelped me.
And then Ms Montez, my junioryear.
She was like I think you'd be areally good teacher, and then
that sent me down that path ofwanting to try to teach.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
And so for me it was like if I could do that to
another kid, come back here sothose teachers kind of instilled
on you the fact that you couldmake a difference and you could
do this exactly.
Yeah, and so and I know youkind of touched on it, but is,
(19:46):
was there a favorite teacher ora most influential teacher?
Speaker 7 (19:50):
uh, yeah, coach forrest was probably one of the
biggest influences here myentire time, from eighth grade
to my senior year always therewhen I had questions or if I
needed advice or anything likethat.
He was still a resource for meeven after I graduated from
Randolph.
I knew I could reach out to himif I had questions while I was
still in college and things likethat and then so it all worked
out really well too.
(20:10):
When he was like you want astudent teacher, I'll be your
cooperating teacher as well.
So I'm doing that with him, andthat's been quite the
experience as well.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So, going back to that time that, when you were a
student, do you have a favoritememory of your time when you
were here as a student?
Speaker 7 (20:28):
yeah, favorite memory I would say my favorite
memories would probably comefrom my time in the lunch bunch.
This was a time, uh, in highschool, where me and a bunch of
my friends would go eat lunch inCoach Forrest's classroom and
those were the times where weall got to hang out and I
thought those were the besttimes with each other, just
because it was so nice to have aplace.
(20:49):
You could go talk, eat all thatfun stuff.
You could go talk, eat all thatfun stuff, um, but the lunch
bunch was always just fun to bein because everybody thought it
was like some secret club.
But it was like just want toeat lunch and then you just come
, just some guys hanging out,that's all we were really doing.
And so people were like we wantto be the lunch bunch, you want
to be the lunch bunch, and it'slike you can come you just all
(21:17):
you got to do is bring your food.
People thought it was like aclub or something.
It's like we're not reallydoing anything.
Well, did you ever imagine thatthere would be a time or that
you would be back here in thecapacity as a teacher?
Because, again, since Randolphwasn't at the list of Texas A&M,
san Antonio, I thought thatwasn't really a possibility.
But then one of my teacherslast year she told me don't let
(21:38):
that stop you from trying to doit, and so that's why you know
that's when I reached out to seeif it was possible.
But my goal, honestly, was justat some point.
I hope that I'll be able to getback to Randolph.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
I didn't expect it to be this soon, but we're here
now, so All right.
Yeah, and I'm pretty sure it'sa common sentiment is we're glad
to see you back, we're glad tosee you.
I appreciate that.
Thank you, the.
So let's go back down memorylane for a little bit for you.
What about homecoming?
You know homecoming is comingup.
Do you have a favorite memoryor favorite homecoming tradition
regarding your time at Randolph?
Speaker 7 (22:17):
For me.
I played football in highschool so obviously homecoming
was always a big game for thefootball players.
We always wanted to make sureif we win any game this year, it
has to be the homecoming game Iwould say the favorite thing
about homecoming.
It's going to sound kind ofcrazy, but Coach West would
always tell us the same storyevery single year on homecoming
and it was making sure that wetreated the girls we went out
(22:37):
with very politely Every yearwithout fail on homecoming.
He would tell us the story onthe Saturday of the actual dance
.
So I think that was probably myfavorite thing.
But something I'm lookingforward to is I've heard the
homecoming pep rally has gottenactually pretty big here at
Randolph, so I'm looking forwardto seeing what that looks like
here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's a district pep rally, right, so even the
younger kids come over andparticipate in all of that and
it's a lot of fun.
So last question Well, okay, soit's sort of I guess it's sort
of two questions.
The first one is do you haveany advice for current students?
Speaker 7 (23:17):
My biggest advice for current students is to just
enjoy your time here.
I feel like Randolph is a reallyspecial place and I feel like
our teachers really do a greatjob of showing that they care
about you outside of theirclassroom, where they want you
to succeed and do a lot ofdifferent things and really
encourage you to try to likemake the most of your time here.
And I feel like at differentschools that I've been at, when
I've been like observing or just, you know, subbing other things
(23:38):
like that.
I haven't seen that as much asI've seen that here at Randolph.
So I feel like Randolph's areally special place where the
teachers are putting that extrastep in to show you that, hey,
I'm gonna go to your gamebecause you asked me to go to
your game.
I'm gonna think that goes along way in showing that the
students that we care and thatwe want them to be successful in
all the things that they'redoing and not necessarily just
being, hey, you're in myclassroom, I don't really care
(23:59):
about you when you're in myclassroom.
I think that goes a long wayfor us.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Is there anything that you would like to say or
you wish that the community as awhole, any thoughts you'd want
to share with them as a whole?
Speaker 7 (24:10):
I would think the biggest thing is I just like
that the environment feels sofriendly and very like family
oriented here, and I think thatstarts with everybody, right?
That's not just the teachers,not a staff or anything.
That's everybody that'sinvolved at Randolph.
You can I feel like I can nevergo past someone who doesn't
wave to me after a game parents,students you know everyone's hi
.
How are you doing Things likethat?
(24:31):
But I think that's just.
It just goes a long way, thisfeeling that you feel welcomed
at a place, and I feel like themore we keep doing that, the
more you know students andteachers are going to want to be
here and want to come back,because I feel like that's a
real thing that we built here.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Fantastic.
Thank you very much to SeanBorders for joining us today.
We really appreciate you, thankyou.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Well, this brings us to the conclusion of today's
very special alumni employeepodcast episode.
Mr Sarlo, thank you again forbeing the guest host for us
today.
I have been sitting in, ofcourse, for each of these
sessions and this has been sucha treat for me to get to hear
I'm sure you feel the same waybut just to get to hear all of
(25:12):
these former students who noware employees talk about the
pride that they felt, not onlyas students but now, so much so
that many of them waited yearsand years for the right
opportunity, were you kind ofsurprised, I was.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
I think that you're right that there are some folks
a number of them mentioned thatwaiting for the opportunity,
waiting, waiting, and meaningthat there was something that
was in their minds pulling themback that they really wanted to
be back here and that it was amatter of you know when that
opportunity would arise, right,and I think that's fantastic.
(25:49):
I really had a good time.
I had a good time getting tohear some of these stories and,
yes, there are certain themesthat sort of kind of keep coming
back in.
And it's like hey, that meansthat our district has been doing
something.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
That's right and I think one of the things that
stood out most, one word thatcame out over and over again,
again, when they were eachtalking about Randolph and our
community is special and I dogenuinely believe that any of us
who have worked here or, in thecases of these students who
went to school here, we allidentify with that phrase as a
(26:26):
descriptor of Randolph, becauseit really is a special place and
sometimes it's hard toarticulate what it is about
Randolph or why, what is specialabout Randolph, but I think
it's everything it's the people,it's the community, it's the
pride, it's the sense of this ishome.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah, there's something about our not only the
staff but also the studentsthat is very, I think, welcoming
to those kids that transfer in,and so I think you're right, I
think that helps.
It brings a sense of comfortand a sense of home.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah, familiarity.
Yeah, it's really interesting,you're right.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
We've heard a lot about that and the special
aspects of what it is thathappens here.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Yes, and one thing that has come up a lot in
regards to when you've askedthem about maybe one of their
favorite homecoming traditions,one of the newer traditions that
we started a few years ago, isthis all-district pep rally.
A few years ago is thisall-district pep rally?
And I was really happy to hearseveral of them mention that,
(27:32):
because that is something thatwe have worked as a district to
really try to promote these lastfew years and help develop that
district-wide community feeling, and so, for those who don't
know, this is an annualtradition that we started a few
years ago and we typically holdthe pep rally in our stadium
either the morning of thehomecoming games or sometime
that week, and it's anopportunity.
(27:53):
We bring over some of theelementary school students, we
have our middle and high schoolstudents participating, we get
our teachers involved.
It's just a really neat timefor camaraderie.
We will have that again thisyear, very excited about it.
And, of course, the main eventsfor homecoming.
We have our homecoming eventstaking place on Friday,
september 27th this year.
We have our volleyball game.
(28:14):
Our varsity volleyball girlswill be playing at 5 pm that day
, and then our football kickofffor varsity that night is at 7
pm and we hope to see all of ourcurrent Randolph community
members, as well as all of ouralumni.
We would love to have you guys,and I just want to say one more
huge thank you to Mr Sarlo forbeing the guest host today.
You did an excellent job.
(28:35):
Is there any final message youwould like to share with the
greater Randolph community?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I think that the Randolph community has been
really good to this school overthe years.
Whether know whether you're alocal business owner or you're,
you know some of the other folksthat are on base that there are
opportunities here that that toin a lot of different ways.
It could be through our CTEprograms, it could be through
(29:02):
sponsoring some of ourextracurricular programs and
things like that, where you canstill have an impact on the
future, as in these young peoplethat are growing up, and you
can help build the bonds of thatcommunity and help continue to
make this a home.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Absolutely.
I think that's a great finalmessage.
Thank you everyone forlistening.
Please join us again for futureepisodes and remember we are
Randolph, this is our story.
Thank you for tuning in today.
(29:56):
If you have an idea, questionor trivia suggestion for a
future episode, please reach outto Amanda Bauer via email.
Come back to listen againanytime.
New episodes release on thethird Wednesday of each month.
To listen again anytime.
New episodes release on thethird Wednesday of each month.
And, as always, thank you toour guests, past, present and
future, our listeners and theentire Randolph community.
(30:17):
Remember we are Randolph, thisis our story.
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