Kim Golden concedes that it feels a little strange some days as she walks through the hallways of Badin High School.
Golden, the 2012 Stephen T. Badin medal winner as the top student in her graduating class “by every measure”, is right back where she started in the fall of 2008 – but this time, 10 years later, not as a freshman learning her way … but as a teacher leading the way.
“There have been some odd moments,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a little different, but it’s been really good. Some things have changed. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the feeling of family. The ‘Ramily’ feeling is still everywhere.”
Golden is teaching various math classes at Badin as well as serving as the junior varsity girls soccer coach after being an all-Ohio soccer player at Badin and a four-year starter on the pitch at Morehead (Ky.) State University, including a trip to the NCAA Division I women’s soccer tournament.
“The closeness at Badin is so important,” she said. “The parental and community support is very key to someone’s educational career. The family atmosphere – you feel like you belong.”
That sense of belonging is what brought Golden back to Badin after an enjoyable year teaching engineering at Butler Tech.
“It was a tough decision, but coming back to Badin felt a bit like coming home,” Golden said. “If I hadn’t have come back, I think I would have always wondered ‘what if …”
Golden didn’t know many people when she showed up at Badin from St. John the Baptist (Dry Ridge) School for her freshman year, but she left an unforgettable mark.
“Winning the Stephen T. Badin medal was a great honor,” she said. “I’m very grateful for the experience I had at Badin. It was more than just a high school. Everyone cared for me as a person.”
Now, she wants to transfer that experience onto the students she teaches in Pre-Calculus, Algebra III and Statistics, as well as on the soccer field.
“At Badin, I was a person who mattered,” Golden said. “Now I want my students to feel that way, too. I want to show up and make a difference for the kids. I want them to learn math – and I want them to learn a bit about life.”