If there’s any clown on campus you should be talking about, it’s this guy right here, Alec Rigik.
Aside from rocking his crisp, high-top white chucks on campus and often creating doodles of trees on the quad, you can find him making the world a brighter place in almost every aspect of his life. He’s a coffee drinker with a killer smile and a thinker with the playfulness of a child. It’s no surprise that we have our spotlight on a musician, artist, comedian, teacher, explorer, scholar, and soul like his this week. Get a look into his mind and life with his exclusive interview with HC ISU!
Name: Alec Rigik
Age: 20
Year in School: Junior
Hometown: Oak Lawn, IL
Major: English Education and Spanish Minor: International Studies (maybe???)
Relationship status: I wouldn’t say no to dinner.
Fun fact: This is my fifth set of front teeth!
Her Campus Illinois State: Alec! Tell us about yourself; what’s an absolutely ideal day in the life of you?
Alec Rigik: Shoot, Ideally? I’d just like longer days if I could. I’d want a super productive *me* day. So I’d probably wake up early, like 6 a.m., here in my room at ISU. I’d make a bomb ass breakfast and coffee and sit in my bed and read my Bible for a bit, then I’d play Legend of Zelda for like two hours. Actually, wait. Could I have a breakfast and coffee attendant? Like a butler? I want a butler. This is my day.
Anyway, yeah. Butler and Zelda. It would be fall, so I would definitely ride my bike south on Constitution, through all the trees and meet up with my roommate, Adam, and graduated friend, Stick, at a park where we would play an intense game of tag. From there, I’d teleport back to a beach I was at near Lagos, Portugal last April. I would spend that part of my day cliff jumping, exploring underwater caves and reveling in the color of the ocean. Then I would pop over to Copper Mountain in Colorado with my best friend, Mat. It would be snowing heavily and we’d be in the middle of one of our snowboarding trips. I miss those. I might drop by home to see my parents. Maybe Mom will have made a pie. That’d be baller.
After all of that, I’d end my night in a low-lit room with a smart and funny woman. We’d be up late drawing, writing, laughing, and listening to Louis Prima or Ella Fitzgerald. Or the Braveheart Soundtrack. We might even just watch it. That movie rules.
HC ISU: What’s your opinion on those who put milk into the bowl before cereal? While we’re at it, top three cereals. GO.
AR: Can’t be trusted. My favorite cereal? Frosted flakes for sure, and probably Fruity Pebbles. Also, the Special K with the strawberries in it. I know it sounds lame, but I’m an Ed major. What do you expect.
HC ISU: Did someone say you’re in a band???? When can we expect the next campus concert?
AR: HAH, yes! I am in a band. We’re called SPOOKTACULAR and, yes, we do realize that a holiday “spooktacular” was already a thing. Don’t ask me; I didn’t name us.
Though we do have one holiday-influenced song, I’d call us kind of an indie-rock band. Punky-folksy maybe? I don’t know. I just sit behind the kit and make dumb jokes during stage changes. However, you can check us out on Facebook and SoundCloud – we’re putting out our second full-length EP very soon!
As far as WHEN the EP comes out and the date of our next show go, I would have to ask Jon. Although, we are playing a few house shows coming up and a release show tentatively on December 9th for Paper Planes’ new EP. Like our Facebook and SoundCloud to stay up to date with upcoming shows and new music.
HC ISU: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do?
AR: Dang, to live?! I would go back to Granada, Spain – where I studied abroad last spring. Though, I really would love to explore Latin America. The culture seems so rich, and, in addition to just exploring and meeting locals, I feel like my heart is being pulled somewhere down there to do ministry or continue educating.
HC ISU: I know you’re a Golden Apple Scholar, how has that experience has pushed you towards the dreams of becoming a teacher?
AR: Golden Apple has been amazing to me. For one, it helped solidify my career choice as an educator, as well as to return to Chicagoland after graduation. It also led me to Illinois State. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for GApple, and I could not imagine a more perfect place for myself in this part of my life.
Basically, Golden Apple is a scholarship program that fosters and supports teacher excellence in the state of Illinois. Each summer, I spend 4-5 weeks (depending on the state budget HAH) taking professional development classes and assisting in a summer school classroom in an Illinois school of need. My classes cover a range of material, including providing me opportunities to learn more about myself both within and outside of the classroom, practice drafting and implementing lesson plans, staying up to date with state educational legislatures and politics, and bonding with a family of Scholars who differ in background, yet share a common heart for underprivileged/underrepresented students – moreover rekindling my desire to teach each year. I also spend about 55-70 hours in a summer school classroom each summer supplementing instruction, aiding students, and leading my kids through entire unit plans I’ve created.
The program also offers a significant amount of scholarship money in exchange for a commitment to teach in an Illinois School of Need for 4-plus years, which is a big part of why I (and many of my fellow scholars) can even afford to attend a university. By Golden Apple partially funding our college careers, they ensure that our commitment towards kids in need of better educators is not only made effective in terms of amount of passion, but also in that of education, experience, and professionalism.
HC ISU: If Alec were running for president, what would his slogan be to woo the people?
AR: “A president you’d feel comfortable bringing home to your parents.”
HC ISU: Every Tuesday at 8 PM, where can we find you on campus?
AR: CVA 145! Tuesdays at 8 PM! Free improv comedy shows! Come out and see ISU’s oldest improv troupe, the Improv Mafia, perform a free one-hour show every Tuesday night!
This is my family on campus. I spend several hours a week improvising, studying, and playing dumb jokes to no end. Though the group is made up of 18 members of many different majors, ages, ethnicities and sexual preferences, we strive to take our “improv mindset” off stage to support each other in everything we do, which has led to some of my best ISU memories.
Our schedules get so crammed that I think we tend to lose sight of childlike inspiration and sense of play. For me, improvising is a way to escape from the deadline-heavy real world for a few hours to explore and play with my teammates and the audience. I think the audience thinks so, too, as we average over 100 audience members each week.
HC ISU: Finally, dogs or cats? Text messages or phone calls? Chunky or creamy peanut butter?
AR: 1. UGH I hate this question. I have two cats and have never owned a dog, but I love them! I might have to go with dogs on this one.
2. If I can’t see you and we need to catch up, then we should call. If it’s a quick joke or there’s an option of catching up later in person, a text is good for me! I tend to forget to respond in drawn-out text conversations.
3. Depends on context. Are you making a sandwich or dipping apples? I get down with creamy. BUT if you’re just trying to eat it straight out of the jar, I have to go with crunch
There you have it, folks. That is Alec Rigik for you, and of course now you see that he is indeed a character for the ages. Thanks to him and all of his willingness to indulge in the spotlight this week. We had a lot of fun getting to know you more and sharing all that you contribute to this campus. Be sure to check out his band Spooktacular on facebook and soundcloud
https://www.facebook.com/spooktacularband/?fref=ts
https://soundcloud.com/spooktacular