We Are Randolph. This Is Our Story.
The official podcast of Randolph Field Independent School District.
We Are Randolph. This Is Our Story.
1.2A The Alumni (Part 1).
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 1., we connect with Coach Elliott Ortiz, the passionate athletic director who shares his inspiring transformation from student to leader, emphasizing life skills and positive experiences for student-athletes.
We also experience heartfelt reflections from Coach Tania Grace, Mr. Daniel Carmean, Mr. Jacob Ritter, and Mrs. Kaylyn Flores as they recount their paths to education, driven by influential mentors and a love for the supportive Randolph community.
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.
Welcome to the official podcast of Randolph Field Independent School District. We are Randolph. This is our story. Tune in on the third Wednesday of each month and join our host, amanda Bauer, director of Community Engagement and Public Relations, as she visits with special guests from the Randolph community, and don't miss the Randolph trivia portion of each episode. We've got cool swag and it could be yours. Subscribe, download, share and definitely listen as we tell our story. Hello and welcome back.
Speaker 1:I am so excited for this next episode.
Speaker 1:You are in for a real treat today, and the reason I am so excited about this particular episode is because it is an episode that is largely focused on homecoming and alumni but not just any alumni a unique subset of alumni who actually all attended schools at Randolph at some point as students and then have returned and now work as employees of the district, and so I think they have such a unique perspective and I cannot wait to hear their stories.
Speaker 1:They are going to do individual mini segments and we will splice them all together and I think it's going to be so fun to listen to. And another neat thing about this particular episode is that we have asked a guest host to join us, so I will not be the one asking the questions. Instead, we've invited one of our teachers not just any teacher, but the teacher who has been employed by the district if not the longest, definitely one of the longest. He is, I believe, in his 29th year at Randolph as a teacher. So I think he will bring a very cool perspective into the conversation and I am really appreciative for Mr Sarlo and each of the guests who agreed to be on this special episode. Who agreed to be on this special episode. So, mr Vance Sarlo, the high school theater teacher at Randolph, how many years have you been at Randolph, mr?
Speaker 3:Sarlo. Oh wow, this is, I'm starting year 29.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's what I thought. So nearly three decades and you started your career at Randolph.
Speaker 3:I did, I did.
Speaker 1:Right after student teaching. I came here. I didn't even know the school existed, but I got a and work as employees for the district, so we figured what better person to interview these alumni than somebody who taught many of them and now works as a colleague with them. I am really appreciative, Mr Sarlo, that you agreed to be host for this episode and I think you're going to have some fun conversations. I'm going to turn it over to you and we will be back shortly with our first mini segment.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you for having me. Thank you, hey, here we are with Coach Elliott Ortiz. Welcome, coach. Thanks for coming in with us today.
Speaker 4:Oh, thanks for having me. It's real exciting to be on the podcast first season, so special.
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, fantastic. So tell us a little bit about yourself, as in what grades were you here and years, if you remember, were you here?
Speaker 4:as a student. So I was in New Mexico, at Kirtland in Albuquerque, fourth grade and we moved here fifth grade, and so I came to Randolph from fifth grade to and I graduated from here, so from fifth to 12th.
Speaker 3:All right. And what was the graduation year? 2006. 2006. And then, when did you come?
Speaker 4:here to work. So then I went to school in Texas State. I did my student teaching here as a student teacher for Coach Gendron in the spring of 10. And then I got my first job in Yorktown, Texas, and I was there a year and then I came back here in the fall of 12.
Speaker 3:All right, yeah, and what would you say is your favorite thing about your job as athletic director? Cause I mean, uh, I know we said coach and all that, but there are probably folks here that don't know exactly what you do here.
Speaker 4:Yeah Well, I guess the best part about being athletic director is like so I am an administrator but I still get to be hands-on with kids every day, so that's the whole reason you get into. Education is to work with young people. And so, even though I'm an administrator and I have administrator-type paperwork and that kind of stuff, I still get to, on a daily basis, work with our boy and girl athletes, and that's the best part of this whole gig.
Speaker 3:What is your vision or goal as the athletic director for RFISD?
Speaker 4:So I would say the the main goal is to is to make sure that we are teaching more than sports right, more than just athletics that we are, that we are empowering our young men and women to go on and and be productive citizens and to and to be, you know, future fathers and mothers and citizens and to be, you know, future fathers and mothers and husbands and wives and good people. And then also, you know, a goal is to give them the experience that us, as a coaching staff, had in high school or in our athletic, you know, endeavors. That is positive, you know, because the whole reason we got into coaching was we had such a great experience in high school athletics and and we want to try and give that to our students as well.
Speaker 3:So when you were a student, did you ever imagine that you would work here?
Speaker 4:No, I really didn't. I didn't. You know, I graduated, uh, 2006 and I went to school and I, and I had no idea really what was going to happen. I was either, hey, I was going to go to school and then, when I graduated, I was going to join the air force, or I was going to go to school and be a coach, like those were the two options. And and, uh, and I decided to. You know, the coaching thing and and teacher thing was, uh, the place for me.
Speaker 3:So what made you want to come back here?
Speaker 4:Well, first off, I've had a connection with Randolph. When I was going to college I was working on base, I worked at the U Center, I worked at the Arts and Crafts Center, worked for the services it's now for Support Squadron. So I did all those things while I was going to school. So I've always been connected to Randolph. And then, knowing the type of place that Randolph is, when Coach West called me like hey, we have a job opportunity here, I jumped at it. I was like, yeah, that's home, so I want to be back.
Speaker 3:Well, let's take you back down memory lane a little bit more In honor of homecoming. We have homecoming coming up. What's your favorite homecoming tradition?
Speaker 4:I would say that the newest thing that we're doing is with our district-wide pep rally. That, I think, has been a huge success. It has been an awesome event every year that we've done in the last three years. I would say that's probably my favorite thing since the parade. It can no longer be done with the base housing situation. The district pep rally has been a tremendous success, so I would say that's my favorite thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, having the younger kids, they all come. It's elementary plus middle school plus high school. It really is a big part of the RFISD.
Speaker 4:Especially when you get younger kids, middle schoolers and elementary kids. So it's nice to get that elementary energy in there because it kind of uplifts everyone's energy.
Speaker 3:It does that's great and it once it once again, builds community, it's, it's, uh, everybody. So what would? What do you think would be some good?
Speaker 4:advice, or your best advice that you might have for your current students I just just go for it. Whatever it is you want to you want to do, just go for it. It's um um. The pain of regret will always be worse than the pain of failure. So just always go for what you think is, and it may be something that you don't succeed, but it takes you on a path to where you're going to have success. So, just whatever it is you want to do, go for it. And but understand that you know hard work is required, like that's the bare minimum. If you for success is to work hard, so make sure that you know that work is required Like that's the bare minimum for success is to work hard. So make sure that you know that's the main thing. Go for it and work hard.
Speaker 3:Was there an influential teacher that helped you learn that and other things, or a favorite teacher?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I would say that at Randolph in high school, even in middle school, coach Gendron was a very influential teacher. He was the middle school PE coach. When you know I was in middle school, coach Gendron was a very influential teacher. He was the middle school PE coach. When you know, I was in middle school he was the. You know, he was my US history teacher when I was in high school he also was my position coach and basketball coach. So he was very influential and if you know about Coach Gendron, like he, he will make sure that things are done right and they're done the best way possible to your best abilities, and so that's really a big influence on kind of what we're doing now All right and last question Do you have any final thoughts that you would like to share with our Randolph community?
Speaker 4:Once a RoHawk, always a RoHawk mantra is what we preach. So you know our doors are always open to you. You know, please reach out, and all former athletes that I've had you know you have my number. If there's anything you ever need, reach out and we'll be more than happy to help you out.
Speaker 3:Fantastic. Thank you, coach Ortiz, for being with us today. We really appreciate your time. We know you're very busy, but yeah thanks, no thanks, it was fun. All right, I want to welcome our next guest, ms Tanya Grace. How are you today, tanya? I'm great. Thank you a little bit. So tell us a little bit about yourself regarding Randolph, as in when you went to school here and like what grade, if you can remember what year. I know you may have to do a little bit of math, right, but just a little.
Speaker 5:Okay, well, I went here from my sophomore year of high school until my senior year. I graduated from Randolph, so I will say I graduated in 1992. Okay, class of 92.
Speaker 3:Yes, and then you came back to Randolph. When did that happen? And tell our listeners what you do.
Speaker 5:Well, I came here in 2017. I actually had just been waiting for something to come open for me here, so I was happy, when the opportunity came, that there was a PE teacher job open, and, even though that's not what I had done before, I went back and got certified in PE. I had always done SPED, so I got certified in PE and I've been here ever since. So currently I'm PE teacher and coach and I'm also the middle school athletic coordinator, and just this year I added on the strength and conditioning.
Speaker 3:What was it about?
Speaker 5:Randolph. That made you want to come back, and Randolph just holds a special place in my heart. I always knew that this was a place that hopefully I could get back to. When I went into education I just said I know what Randolph was about, what Randolph did for me, and so I was hoping to get back and be able to do the same things that all the teachers and coaches did for me with someone else's kids.
Speaker 3:So do you have any special memory of your time at Randolph as a student?
Speaker 5:Actually a lot of things. Probably what stands out the most was well homecoming. I was homecoming queen, so that was exciting. And I also ended up going to state for shot put and discus and I was the only person in the entire Randolph track team that went to state that year Wow.
Speaker 3:I didn't know that. Yes, so that was exciting.
Speaker 5:When you were a student, did you ever imagine that you would come back here and work? Absolutely not. No, I had no idea because, honestly, when I got out of high school, my first thought was not even to go into education. I switched up from like psychology and went into education.
Speaker 3:Okay, I want to go back to this homecoming thing. All right, Because homecoming is coming up. Yes it's coming up. Do you have any particular homecoming tradition that I mean it could be current or it could be something you know from the past that that was your favorite thing.
Speaker 5:So I just think it's always a good time when people can come back and get together, and it's just nice to see different eras of Randolph-Rohawks come back together.
Speaker 3:So when you were a student here, did you have a favorite teacher or teachers that maybe were influential on you or taught you something in anything in particular that might you might have carried through the rest of your life, and so forth.
Speaker 5:Absolutely. I will say that is Donna Lane. I still keep in contact with her, still to this day. She has always been someone who has been encouraging for me, even I mean through high school, through college and obviously beyond. Even I mean through high school, through college and obviously beyond. But she's always been able to bring out the best in me, and it's not even just on the court or in the gym, it's just as a person in general. She taught me a lot of things of how to carry myself, how to, you know, put myself out there, take chances and just always be the best I can be. So I have always kind of mirrored a lot of stuff after her.
Speaker 3:Donna Lee is a great choice.
Speaker 5:She's just a very caring person, absolutely, and that's the number one thing.
Speaker 3:That's what I was thinking.
Speaker 5:Whenever you first, she's caring, and like I said, it goes beyond just her coaching. So that's somebody who I would always say like you know, I want how I remember her. I'm hoping that I can touch other kids that way and they remember me just as well when they're as old as I am.
Speaker 3:I'm sure some of them already think it already, and but all right. So do you have any advice for today's students, anything that you would think would be your best advice to hand off to that next generation?
Speaker 5:Yes, and I actually I say this all the time now to kids. I think, coming to Randolph, some people don't realize how good they have it here. I think Randolph goes above and beyond for a lot of our kids and even our families. I just think we, our community and our environment, we just live a different life, you know, than people outside the military.
Speaker 3:I just think we have something very special here and I just want kids to realize that, as far as the community is concerned, do you have anything you would like to say to them?
Speaker 5:I would just say keep up the good work. I mean, I think we do a good job of supporting one another, so I think we're doing something right. You know, people want to come here for a reason. We have something special and I want people to realize that. And as long as we have community involvement and parent involvement and people are all working towards the same goals, this will always be a great place 100% agree.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for coming out, coach Grace. Oh, and here we are with Daniel Carmine. How are you doing?
Speaker 7:Daniel, I'm good. How are you, mr Sarlo?
Speaker 3:I'm doing great. Hey, thanks for coming out today. We really appreciate it. So tell us actually real quick, tell us your current. What are you teaching here at Randolph?
Speaker 7:I teach chemistry and UT chemistry. What are you teaching here at Randolph?
Speaker 3:I teach chemistry and UT chemistry. Fantastic, and originally you were here as a student, right.
Speaker 7:Yes.
Speaker 3:So what grades and or years, if you can remember, were you here as a Randolph student?
Speaker 7:I was here from eighth grade and I graduated, so it was 95 to 2000.
Speaker 3:Wow, 95 to 2000. So you got to see a little bit of the middle school process all the way through high school and fantastic. And then you came here as a teacher in what year? 2022. 2022. And what is your favorite memory here at Randolph?
Speaker 7:I think my favorite thing was we had the homecoming parade and when I was a senior I finally was part of the float and we just ran around getting all the kids excited and throwing candy at them and things like that. That was a blast. There were so many of us in the bed of the truck that it was almost rubbing the back tires.
Speaker 3:Well, when you were a student here, did you ever imagine that you would be back here working and teaching?
Speaker 7:Honestly, no, I did not plan on being a teacher until I graduated college. It just wasn't on my radar. But after I started teaching, my goal was always to come back.
Speaker 3:It just took me 17 years to do it, hey, hey, sometimes. Sometimes it takes a while to get to the good place, right? Yes, sir, and what was it that made you want to come back to Randolph?
Speaker 7:I always liked the small school atmosphere. It's like if I, when I started teaching, I taught at larger schools and all the time I was looking for openings here. But I like the small school atmosphere. Here is so much more personal with the students than those larger schools, as we're able to focus more on every single student.
Speaker 3:So what do you think is the best advice that you have for our current students?
Speaker 7:Yeah, not to worry too much about what everybody thinks about you. One of the issues with a small school and we all ran into it is everybody knows too much about everybody and just not to worry about that. Just keep everything personal. Keep who you are and be happy about who you are. And the happier you are with yourself, the more accepted you will be by everybody else.
Speaker 3:Wow, that's. That's really good. I'm like wow, hey, I like that, I like that, I like that a lot. So so tell us about perhaps either your favorite teacher or maybe your most influential teacher that you had here at Randolph.
Speaker 7:Probably my favorite and most influential was my chemistry teacher, ms Tentino. I had her for regular chemistry as a sophomore and then I had her for AP chemistry. And chemistry was the first class that I ever took that I actually had to work on. I didn't get it right away. I actually had to study how to do my work. I had to to work on. I didn't get it right away. I actually had to study how to do my work. I had to go ask questions and it was the first time I ever truly felt academically challenged. And my teacher, she said it was supposed to be hard. She said if it wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth it. And that kind of stuck with me for my entire life. I tell everybody if it's not hard, it's not worth it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I remember Karen Dentino as well and I remember her holding the students to the high standard and being very well respected at her time. Well, last question for you today Do you have any final thoughts that you'd like to share with the Randolph community as a whole?
Speaker 7:So I think this community is probably the most involved community that I've worked with as a teacher. It's a very different community. Most public schools, you know, everybody lives in the district, but here we have people like spread out. We have just a smaller community on the base but it seems like we get more done and come together more as a community than the other districts I worked at. I think that's just amazing.
Speaker 3:I don't think I could agree with you more. Thank you very much for joining us today. Mr Carmin, thank you, we really appreciate your time and yeah, thanks, all right, thanks a lot, appreciate it. Our next guest for today is Mr Jacob Ritter. Mr Ritter, hello, hey, thanks for coming out today. We really appreciate it. So if you could tell us when you were a student here, if you can remember the years, grade levels, things of that sort.
Speaker 8:Yeah, I was out here from 2005 through 2009. I started in eighth grade and then made it all the way through to my senior year, and then you came back to start working at Randolph.
Speaker 8:Yeah, I was gone for four years at Texas State and then I got really bored of not being at Randolph so I was like well, let's try that again. So I just started working there right away. What made you want to come back? Oh, I love this school. I think it's such a cool school. I loved going to this school. I was one of those guys that's like I like going to school, so I was pretty thrilled when I was like no way, I can work here.
Speaker 3:Do you have a favorite memory about your time when you were here as a student at Randolph?
Speaker 8:Yeah, I mean, one of the coolest parts about a school like this is you can be involved in so many clubs, organizations, sports, things like that. I'm a guy that has way too many hobbies and interests, so this was a perfect school for me and I think anyone who's like that probably experiences that too where it's like you can be a cross country runner, you can be in the marching band, you can be in theater, you can be in 14 other things like that's kind of what I did, and so, yeah, all my favorite memories are usually related to that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3:Tell us a little bit about, or your favorite teacher and or most influential teacher from your time at Randolph.
Speaker 8:Yeah, I don't know if I can pick one, so I just kind of have more micro stories. We have one of the coolest things about my time at Randolph. I thought I was one of those students that when you hand them like an assignment, like my mind just is bursting with like how could I do this in the cool way I want to? And, um, a lot of teachers don't let you do that, and I had a lot of teachers that did let me do that.
Speaker 8:And that was really special. Um, I think, uh, Amanda's sitting right here. She was my English two teacher. I remember, uh, you know, we read this book and I was like, can we make a movie out of it? And she's like, sure, and that's what we did for a few weeks. Um, and she was flexible and let us play and fail, um, spectacularly, but still like, have a cool, like effort in doing so.
Speaker 8:Um, Mary Shields, my Spanish teacher, was the same way. Me and my friend Robbie were just like, uh, can we get out of the Spanish exam and instead make an entire movie in Spanish? He's like, yeah, that's way more work and you're going to learn more. And you know, for us that was way more fun than sitting down and memorizing vocab words. We got to write a script in it and then film it and practice our pronunciation. It was like way more work than studying for a test, but that's what we wanted to do and that was really cool. Way more work than studying for a test, but that's what we wanted to do and that was really cool. And then I also just had teachers that really challenged me in areas that I even felt good in. I remember my math teacher, Steve Andreas was just like one of those guys that I don't know.
Speaker 8:I was like I was okay at math but he like brought me to that next level and made it fun and just was quirky and goofy and made the classroom exciting to be, in which I didn't associate math with that. I mean, you, mr Sarlo, uh, were I was in a, I was in this public speaking class and uh, I thought I was pretty good at that already and I just remember, you know him giving me tons of feedback and I could not get that 100, you know, I had to keep working it and pushing myself and thinking about things I didn't even think about, like where you pause and where you put your body to transition things.
Speaker 3:Wow, that's a, that's a great list and um, it's uh. Those are some really good stories about things that you remember from that time. So what would be some of the advice you might have? What do you think would be your best advice for today's?
Speaker 8:students. You're going to discover so much about yourself in high school and this is the time to join the club. You don't even know if you might like it. What is impact? What is robotics Like? Go check it out. It can be mid-year and you can just pop in and most clubs are just happy to have you there, so you can find something that you didn't know, that you loved, that you loved, like I discovered the love of acting and video editing and running and so many things here at this campus, and that's a special thing to like, just discover. So, yeah, take those risks and you know, those things really grow you as a person.
Speaker 3:It's good stuff All right and last question Do you have any thoughts that you'd like to share with the Randolph community as a whole?
Speaker 8:Just keep supporting our school, make sure it never goes away, because this is a special place and I don't want to ever see it disappear.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much, mr Ritter. Thank you, it's been a pleasure having you. Yes, I want to welcome our next guest today, ms Kaylin Flores. Tell us a little bit about your student experience here at Randolph, as in what grades were you here, what year, if you can remember, you know? Kind of give us a little background on Ms Flores, the student at Randolph.
Speaker 2:Okay, so as a student at Randolph I was Kaylin Chassie, my dad was in the Air Force and so we were stationed at Randolph and I actually started off at the CDC, so young enough to start off at the daycare center on base and then kind of work my way up to the elementary school. So I was in the elementary school for kindergarten first, second and third grade, and so I think that's 1995 to 1999.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:So quite a while ago.
Speaker 3:And, for those of you that are listening, that you heard the CDC. That's the Childhood Development Center, I believe, or Child Development Center, not the Center for Disease Control.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:So, but okay. But then you came back as an employee, as a teacher. When did that happen and what do you do?
Speaker 2:Yes, so in the 2017-18 school year, that's when I came back to Randolph as a teacher. That was my fourth year teaching and I'm still here teaching and I teach biology and the college-level biology class, our UT on-ramps biology.
Speaker 3:We're going to have homecoming coming up soon, just a couple of weeks out. As a teacher, you've been here now for a few years. What are your thoughts on homecoming?
Speaker 2:I like homecoming. It's in Texas such a big tradition. I went to high school in Texas so I get it. I had the mums and everything. Probably not as big as they've gotten now. They're out of this world. They're so big now but I love all of that. I love the school spirit. I do like that. We do our district pep rally now where we have elementary coming over and middle school joins and high school. All of the school spirit is just nice to see.
Speaker 3:So what do you think would be your best advice for students today?
Speaker 2:I think probably just enjoy it while it lasts, because especially with the high school students, high school is about figuring out who you are and what you like. School doing the work is part of that. But I think it's also like a safe space to kind of you know, figure out who you are, what you like, what you want to do, and then that you know serves you later in life.
Speaker 3:I want to know was there a teacher or teachers that had a major impact on you?
Speaker 2:Thinking back to elementary school and the teachers that I had. You know, my kindergarten teacher will stand out to me because she's my first experience of school, so that was Mrs Talbert. And then I do also think of my first grade teacher, mrs Walpole, because she was the one who taught me how to read. So, and I love reading, I have a little book club that you know I read with my friends, where I read every single night, and so I kind of credit her, you know, teaching me how to read.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's huge, yeah, and of course you're going to carry that Well. Our last question is do you have any final thoughts for that you'd like to share with the overall Randolph community?
Speaker 2:I just think it's a great community to be a part of. It's super supportive, everyone's willing to kind of jump in and help when needed, whether they are a parent or a non-parent, just someone out there in the community. I feel like they do kind of stress. You know family and the military service too, and that's nice to see especially. I was a military kid, so I get it and I understand it and it's just really nice to be here. It's got a small town vibe, even though you know we're in a larger city, but it's got that small town feel to it that I also like and it's just overall just a good place to be.
Speaker 3:Well, mrs Flores, I think we are fortunate to have you, and thank you for coming out here today to talk with us.
Speaker 2:Of course. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Well, that means that it's time for our Randolph podcast trivia. So the way this is going to work is I'm going to read a trivia question. If you would like to submit an answer to potentially be eligible to win some podcast swag, this is what you need to do. If you know the answer to the trivia question, you are going to email your answer to podcast at RFISDnet. I will be looking for the timestamp to tell me who gets in the correct answer first. So whoever responds and has the answer correct and is the first one with that correct answer to get an email through to podcast at RFISDnet will be selected as the winner. If you are the winner, I will respond to your email and we will coordinate how we want to get your swag to you. If I don't respond to your email, that means that you are not the winner, but I will be sure to announce the answer to this month's trivia question on next month's podcast episode. That way, everybody will know what the answer is, Because, remember, just because you submit an answer and you don't get a response from me, it doesn't mean that your answer was wrong. It just means that you weren't the first one to get the answer in. Okay. So now that we've got the instructions out of the way, here is the trivia question when was the first nighttime pep rally held to celebrate the Randolph High School football team? What was the location of the very first night pep rally celebrating the Randolph High School football team? Again, you're going to email your answer to podcast at rfisdnet. Podcast at rfisdnet. Thank you so much for participating and again, be sure to tune in to next month's podcast episode to hear the answer revealed.
Speaker 1:That brings us to the conclusion of part one of our special alumni homecoming episode. Be sure to listen to part two coming right up. Thank you for tuning in today. If you have an idea, question or trivia suggestion for a future episode, please reach out to Amanda Bauer via email. Come back to listen again anytime. New episodes release on the third Wednesday of each month and, as always, thank you to our guests, past, present and future, our listeners and the entire Randolph community. Remember we are Randolph. This is our story.
