Q/A’s with honorary Mr. and Ms. Raiders

Each year, two teachers are honored for their hard work and dedication to the school.

With the impending closure of Rider High School, the senior class officers expanded their selection of Honorary Raiders to four. The Rider Chronicle sat down with the 2021 Honorary Raiders to discuss their award and the impact they hope to leave. 

How long have you been at Rider and what do you teach/do here? 

Kristy Ciuba: Ten years. I teach English and I coach volleyball and basketball.

TiAda Radtke: I have been here 17 years and I have been assistant principal here for the last eight years.

Kyndra Henson: This is my 10th year at Rider, and I taught algebra all 10 years and some algebra II and geometry.

Cleveland Wallerich: I have been here for 27 years and I teach government, AP government and financial literacy.

What does it mean to you to be honored as Mr./Miss Raider? 

Ciuba: It’s a huge honor because I love this school, and from the moment I stepped on campus, I felt like a Raider. To be given the title of honorary Raider is pretty awesome. 

Radtke: It’s a huge honor, that’s something that I think should embody everything about Rider: being proud of the school, our traditions and especially this week we’ve got some amazing traditions that we do year in and year out. It is just a very special honor because it just means that someone in this group thinks of you in enough of a capacity to give you an honor that says they feel you embody the spirit of the school.

Henson: It’s an honor that kids can think of you that way, it’s something special. 

Wallerich: It’s an honor that I was picked out of all of the other deserving candidates at this school.

What do you feel this award represents? 

Ciuba: It just means that the class thought that something about me is memorable, hopefully in a good way since I got this award. That’s the whole reason you teach, to make an impact, so it makes me feel like I have accomplished that goal. 

Radtke: Like I said just everything about Rider, trying to promote us in a positive light, making sure we got things the right way, trying to be fair and consistent in everything we do and also being very supportive of all of our groups here and just proud of our school as a part of the community.

Henson: It means the kids genuinely appreciate that I’m helpful and like the things that I do. 

Wallerich: It represents how people perceive you and others recognizing what you do.

What impact do you hope to leave? 

Ciuba: A positive one, an encouraging one, one that I won’t be able to see for years and years to come, but later on they’ll say that hopefully I had a positive impact and that’s what led them to do whatever they do. 

Radtke: Well it’s sad to think that we’re just going to be a high school for three more years. The impact I hope and think all of us who’ve been here a long time hope to leave the fact of what we did as a group, how unified we were especially during times like this, how we all came during the pandemic and I’m talking to staff, students and everyone. As a staff we’re trying to get young people ready for the workforce, college or military whatever they choose to do after high school. We just hope that we are giving everyone the appropriate tools they need to be successful.

Henson: Try your best, do your best and never give up.

Wallerich: I want my students to be successful when they go out and transition into college and life. I hope they’re prepared going into their adult life.