Illinois State University is not an unfamiliar place to incoming freshman Caleb King.
First, King grew up in Normal until the age of 14 when his family moved to Carlock, just 10 miles northwest of campus. Besides having a hometown connection, his parents, Kristie and Andy ’01, are both alums. Andy played football at Illinois State where he was a three-year starter at left tackle and an All-American his senior season.
Caleb was born in St. Louis, where his parents lived while his dad was playing in the NFL for the Rams. Now 18, he is the oldest of six children—two boys and four girls—who have all been home schooled. They range in age from Caleb down to 9 years old. With his family living nearby and having a personal link to the place, picking Illinois State was an easy choice.
A high performer academically, King will be in the Honors Program, and he was awarded the Presidential Scholarship.
“With my parents having six kids, I didn’t have any other way to pay for it,” King said.
As a spiritual person, King said he had prayed for a way to go to college, and he felt blessed when he found out he would be able to. He remembers the excitement of getting the news about his scholarship application.
“I was talking to my sister on the phone while checking my email, and an email popped up,” King said. “I said, ‘I gotta go tell Mom and Dad.’ They were super excited.”
He’s about to experience college life to the fullest, living in a residence hall with a roommate he’s exchanged texts with but has not met. They will get to know each other very soon in their room at Manchester Hall. King will major in history, but he’s not sure what he’ll do for a career yet.
“Law school maybe; it’s back there in the background,” he said.
King gives his mom credit for getting all six kids started on their academic path and includes her in a small group of teachers he’s had along the way who prepared him for this moment.
“My mom definitely, she got all of us in that program, which was no easy feat,” King said. “And Amy Joy Tofte and Melissa Waterson were the two teachers from my high school years who were super helpful with the material. It was nice having them as my teachers every year. They’re wonderful people.”
Outside of school, he’s been an active member of Civil Air Patrol since he was 13. Students 12-21 are eligible for the program and can take courses in leadership, aerospace, and character development. Through the program, King attended a flight school in Mattoon earlier this summer and has an interest in being a pilot. He said Civil Air Patrol is similar to ROTC.
“It’s officially the auxiliary of the Air Force, so we follow their regulations,” he said. “I love the Civil Air Patrol program.”
At Illinois State, he has an interest in checking out the chess club or a video game club (Apex Legends is a favorite), and he’s a big Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast. The student radio station, WZND, is also something he wants to find out more about.
In addition to all his academic accomplishments and his many interests, King also has found time to work a part-time job.
“I’ve worked at Chick-fil-A for the last 2 ½ years to save for college spending money,” he said. “I love it, it’s great. I’ve been the guy in the back making your fries for you.”
He participated in Preview in July, which he thought was a good experience. He managed to make some new friends there and is looking forward to seeing them when he gets to campus. Like a lot of freshmen, meeting new people is one of the things he’s a little anxious about.
“I’m looking forward to the change of pace, which will be different from home school, and public education is something I’m curious about,” King said. “I think it was time for me to do something different, but the other side of that is the nervous part about making friends.”
But he loves that he’ll be close enough to home to go back for dinner if he wants to. He also knows there will be comfort in this familiar place that has generational meaning to him and his family.
“It feels like I’m coming full circle,” he said. “ISU holds a special place in my heart.”
Read about all of the students featured in our “Newest Redbirds” series at News.IllinoisState.edu.
