Redbird Legacy: Ashley Schrader and Kevin Hieronymus ’83.

Members of the Hieronymus-Schrader family hold more than an Illinois State legacy dating back to 1979. They also have a history going back three decades at the student-run newspaper, the Daily Vidette.

Kent Hieronymus ’79, M.A. ’87, was the first to attend ISU, enrolling with plans to become a Spanish teacher. He met his wife, Cari (Ceja) ’79, M.S. ’92, from Blue Island, who was studying special education. Both are teachers at Olympia High School in Kent’s hometown of Stanford.

Kent’s brother, Kevin ’83, headed to ISU for a physical education degree. Once on campus, a Daily Vidette employment advertisement caught his eye. He had taken a journalism class in high school, but had never contemplated pursuing a newspaper career. That changed at the Vidette, where he became the sports editor while working under former general manager Harry Thiel.

Growing up near Illinois State and his work as sports editor left Kevin with endless Redbird memories. He fondly recalls as a child witnessing the moves of ISU’s basketball legend, Doug Collins ’73. He also remembers coach Bob Donewald’s men’s basketball teams in Horton Field House, and misses the atmosphere of the loud games.

For the past 25 years, Kevin has held the position of sports editor at the Bureau County Republican in Princeton. While there was a 25-year gap in the family’s ISU attendance following his graduation, the family once again has a member on campus. Kevin’s niece, Ashley Schrader, will graduate this spring.

Ashley came in 2008 with the goal of becoming an English teacher. She changed her major to English publishing, and now plans to pursue a career in sports writing. Like her uncle Kevin, she chose that direction after working at the Vidette, where she is now the sports editor.

For Kevin, the student newspaper legacy is a special bond between his family and alma mater. “For me, it’s cool to see, after all of these years, that someone in the family is doing the job that I did,” he said.