This week on How Well Do You Know Our Staff?,  we feature the Lastborn Lad. They started out in Orrville, OH, though they moved around some. “It was about a London-sized city. It had 1 high school, 1 junior high, but 3 elementaries.”

Summertimes for them were made for the pool after a great game of basketball. They filled their time outdoors playing classic games such as kick the can, tag, olly olly oxen free, or hide and seek. 

Their family had 4 boys and 1 girl, but this teacher was the youngest of the bunch. Much like their parents, teaching is something The Lastborn Lad is very passionate about. “My mom was a kindergarten teacher and my dad was a physics teacher. My roommate [in college] was also my brother.” Earlier in their lifetime, they had diverse interests which left them with great memories. 

In high school, they were involved in wrestling, football, baseball, and Hi-Y (a service organization). They went to prom when it was hosted, but there was an economic crisis that limited their school’s ability to host other social events, such as homecoming. “I never went to homecoming, but they always had a prom. I’m not sure what happened with homecoming, but a couple of years prices went sky high, probably about my junior year. The school was short on money sometimes.”

College brought some fun memories, too. “At Kent [State University] if it snowed, you could go and trade your ID card in for a lunch tray. Then, you could go sledding on the lunch trays.” But there were the hard times in college that aren’t to be forgotten. “The material was hard, but there was a lot of competition over grades. When you’re in [my field] you’re up against the people who want to be doctors. And they’re getting really good grades.” 

During the time they’ve spent at Alder, this teacher has seen some notable changes. “For the most part, the kids are still pretty nice. I think the percentage of hard workers has gone down a little bit. There may not be as much of a religious influence that there used to be.” 

They’ve learned a lot throughout their teaching career as well. “[You have to] have a backup plan sometimes for when things don’t go right. Let’s say you have a demonstration you’re going to do, and it’s not working at all. You have to have something you can jump to right away.”