Illinois Valley Community College student and teacher Kealey Rick was recently named a Golden Apple Scholar of Illinois.

The scholarship will qualify Rick for tuition assistance after completing a university education program

Scholarship recipients will also receive professional development and job placement assistance. The scholars must agree to teach at an economically or academically at-risk school. The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois receives 3,000 application submissions annually.

Rick shared the news of her award with her instructor, Jill Urban-Bollis, whose excitement equaled Rick’s. “I could not be prouder of Kealey. She is a good example of what dedication and hard work look like. She has her eyes on the prize and when she gets there, I anticipate she will be one of those educators who truly make a difference!” Urban-Bollis said in a news release.

Rick plans to graduate in spring 2026 and is studying elementary education at Illinois State University.

“I want to be one of those teachers who loves being in a classroom,” Rick also said in the news release.

She enrolled in dual-credit courses at the college while in high school. Rick was a member of the Illinois Valley Community College volleyball team and worked as a preschool classroom assistant and as a Marquette Academy volleyball coach. She was inspired to become a teacher by her mother, Brooke Rick and English teacher Anne Schneider.

Rick said she admires her mother’s “drive and determination and love for what she does” and appreciates Schneider’s patience and encouragement as she “took time out of her day to make me a better student.”

She also said she enjoys working with children, but her own academic struggles strengthened her desire to work in special education. Those obstacles fueled her drive to work harder and develop different learning strategies, a resilience she plans to pass along as a teacher in her classroom.