By Easton Fiala
It was a cold Wednesday afternoon in December. An unsuspecting 4th grade class just received news that it wasn’t going to be an ordinary day. 4th grade teacher, Ms. Clifton, told the class that a surprise guest was coming to visit them, but their identity was kept unknown.
As the 4th grade students prepared to receive their visitor, a buzz of excitement and wild guesses as to who the visitor was filled the air. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Scott were some of the most commonly guessed names. When the entire 4th grade class gathered in Ms. Clifton’s room, murmurs of guesses silenced to the sound of the door creaking open. The guest’s identity was finally revealed. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola.
The 4th grader’s obsession with Dylan Raiola started around October according to 4th grade teacher Ms. Clifton.
“A bunch of the boys in my class dressed up as him for Halloween. And ever since then, in writing lessons… they would always make him a character in their stories,” Clifton said.
It was also around this time that Ms. Clifton started noticing teachers online reaching out to college athletes to send videos of themselves saying hello to their students. This prompted her to message Raiola to see if he would send a quick video. To her surprise, Raiola messaged back the same night saying, “I’d rather just stop in and surprise them.”
This response seems to match with Raiola’s good character. He said, “That’s kind of my heart, to give back… I’m just glad I got to make the trip out.”
When Raiola entered the room, looks of shock and amazement covered the faces of the class. He sat down in front of the class to say hello, and started answering some of the students’ burning questions. He then read, Santa is Coming to Nebraska in front of the whole class. After the reading, a small deviation from the original plan took place when a couple students took out scraps of paper and asked him if he would autograph them. Soon the entire class started ripping papers out of their notebooks for him to sign.
“I’m going to keep this until I die!” said a fourth grader in the swarm of students getting autographs.
Once the autographs were finished, Raiola led the class to the football field where he threw passes to the students. The day ended with a group picture with Dylan Raiola and the class.
Reflecting on the day, Raiola said, “being able to come and see the community and the support and everything is tremendous. So I’m very grateful.”
The lasting effect that Raiola had on the students was more than just a visit though. Ms. Clifton points out that, “not only was it cool that he’s an athlete, but he’s like, a cool role model for the kids to look up to.”
People don’t always get to meet their heroes, but meeting a positive influence like Dylan Raiola will leave a positive impact on this group.