Lyndon Spotlight is a new series about students and staff on campus. In this series, I will be conducting interviews with the well-known members of our college community and tell their stories.
“Hey, how are you doing? Staying out of trouble, staying out of trouble.” This line is iconic to one man on this campus, Raymond Ezirike.
Raymond is a senior in the Exercise Science program in which he is concentrating in Pre-Physical Therapy. He is also a strength and conditioning coach to gain knowledge for sports-related injuries. Alongside his studies, Raymond is also apart of the Sports Medicine Club. Raymond and his greetings are iconic at NVU-Lyndon. This is why I thought he would be the perfect first person to be part of this series.
Raymond and his classic greetings decided to meet me at the Hornet’s Nest for a short interview. Here, I learned the origin of why he asks everyone how their day is going and wishes them to have a great day. It began in high school when his line used to be “I appreciate it.” He learned that people like it when you acknowledge them. During his freshman year of college, the upperclassmen were nice to him and he began to reach out to others and ask them how their days were. Soon, he began to talk to everybody and became the icon he is today.
Raymond’s outreach to others and communicative skills have brightened up many students’ days. Raymond’s day, however, is also brightened up. Raymond went on to elaborate, saying “There are so many little moments when some people stop me in the hallway and say you make me happy. So I keep doing it.” Raymond’s kindness reaches around 30 students a day, according to him. Pre-COVID, he was outreaching to 60+ students and faculty members.
This act of kindness has begun a competition amongst students and Raymond. They will wish the other a synonym to “good day” until one fails to think of a new phrase. Raymond has only been defeated once by Zach Falkenburg last semester.
Raymond continues however wishing everyone he can a great day, including in this article. In his final remarks, he wants The Critic’s readers to “have a great day.”
Feature Photo by Quinlan Peer; Design by Alexandra Huff