He might not have stayed in Kankakee County, but he has certainly stayed golden.

Matthew White, a 2010 graduate of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, is one of 30 Illinois finalists for the 2026 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

White is an orchestra teacher for sixth through eighth grades at Scullen Middle School in Naperville.

In late February, the Golden Apple Foundation nonprofit named White as one of 30 fourth- through eighth- grade teacher finalists out of nearly 600 nominations.

The Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching honor outstanding teachers for having lasting, positive effects on students’ lives and school communities, according to a news release.

Teacher finalists demonstrate, through their teaching and results, a significant positive impact on their students’ growth and learning, the release said.

Though he no longer resides in Kankakee County, White said his journey in both music and teaching began in Bourbonnais.

As a fifth grader at Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center, he met some of the teachers who would influence the rest of his life.

White picked up the viola for his fifth-grade orchestra and hasn’t put it down since.

He continued to practice the instrument, a “sister to the violin” with a medium, mellow tone, and played professionally through college.

He continues to play the viola, along with other instruments he’s picked up along the way, and has had opportunities to play gigs and reconnect with his fifth grade orchestra teacher, Rebecca Harms, in adulthood.

His fifth grade social studies teacher, Susan Cianfrogna, was “one of the most influential people” in White’s life.

What made Cianfrogna stand out was showing students she cared and making them feel important.

“She had an immense impact on my development as a young man, but also as somebody that eventually became a teacher,” he said. “I have always held her as my gold standard.”

White has tried to carry those lessons with him as an educator.

“It’s a goal of mine that when kids come to school, they know somebody is excited that they are there,” he said. “I like being that person.”

When White started high school, he began giving private music lessons to family friends, and he knew he found what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

“Music is such a connecting point,” White said. “I have met so many incredible people through my journey in music.”

One of the ways White has been shown to go above and beyond as a teacher is when he helped a deaf student with a cochlear implant play the violin.

“This student is so joyful and so positive, and just wanted to be a part of this,” he said.

White had written a grant and received funding for five electronic instruments, and one day his deaf student picked up the electric violin.

Knowing that the student had used his cochlear implant to connect with his laptop, White wondered if the same could work for an electric instrument.

White collaborated with colleagues and experts, including an audiologist and hearing itinerant, to make it possible for the student to play and hear the electric violin through his cochlear implant.

“There’s a place for everybody, and music is a place that invites and welcomes everybody,” White said. “It is the coolest universal language.”

White also credits his time at BBCHS for helping to prepare him to be a successful music teacher.

He was in his high school orchestra, sang in choir and played trumpet in the marching band. He also helped form the Tri-M music honors society and was the first president of that organization, and he was involved in theater.

“BBCHS was kind of a cool playground for me,” he said.

He recalled a teacher at BBCHS, Angela Holderman, who started a teaching internship class.

As a senior in high school, White was able to take part in an experience similar to student teaching.

“That was yet another awesome opportunity to whet my whistle and spark my interest in being a teacher,” he said.

White went on to study music education at Illinois State University.

Although he knows not all of his students will have an interest in pursuing music, he hopes to leave them with a respect for the discipline of music and an appreciation for the broader creative arts community.

“I think [the arts] just kind of opens up your life to being more joyous, and it gives you a chance to celebrate with people,” White said. “I would hope that, even if they don’t do music, those sorts of things they learn in my classroom stick around.”

White lives in the Naperville area with his wife, Elizabeth, and 9-year-old son, Wesley. He still returns to Bourbonnais to visit his parents.

The selected 2026 Golden Apple Award recipients will be surprised in the spring.

Northwestern University provides a spring sabbatical to award recipients at no cost. Each recipient receives a $5,000 cash award.

Award recipients become Fellows of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators, a community of educators who help to prepare the next generation of teachers in the Golden Apple Scholars and Accelerators programs, which are dedicated to addressing the teacher shortage in Illinois.

“Exceptional teachers remind us every day what is possible for students,” said Alan Mather, President of Golden Apple, in the release. “They create classrooms where curiosity and challenge are encouraged, confidence is built, and learning feels meaningful. These finalists exemplify the dedication, care, and skill that define teaching at its finest. We are proud to recognize the lasting impact they have on their students and school community.”