Who is Tim Walz?

It's not every day that a high-school teacher runs for Vice President of the United States. Mine is.

It’s not every day that a high-school teacher runs for Vice President of the United States. It’s even more unusual when that teacher comes from a small public school in southern Minnesota, tucked away in a river valley about eighty miles from the Twin Cities and fifty miles from Iowa. If you’re curious about Mr. Walz as a teacher but only have a moment to spare, here’s a quick summary: Mr. Walz is one of the most genuine, caring, kind, and joyful people you could ever meet.

If you have a bit more time, let me share how Mr. Walz made a difference in the life of a “C” student—by “C” student, I mean someone who was decent in some classes but not particularly engaged in others.

Let’s rewind to 19 years ago. Around this time, I was walking through the halls of Mankato West High School, picking up my class list and locker assignment. I ran into an upperclassman I’d played baseball with and asked,

“Which teachers should I try to get this year?”

“Definitely get Walz for geography,” he immediately responded.

Fortunately for me, Mr. Walz was already on my schedule as my fourth-hour Global Geography teacher. From day one, it was clear why my teammate had recommended his class. Mr. Walz was high-energy, joyful, and truly seemed to enjoy being there with us. He didn’t just lecture from the front of the room; he moved around, engaged with students, asked questions, and made grand gestures with his arms as the enthusiasm of the day continued to rise. Being in Mr. Walz’s class was a fully immersive experience—there was no outrunning the joy of learning, no matter how hard you tried.

Mr. Walz made every student feel valued. He spent as much time with me as he did with the “A” students, and it had a significant impact on me. I learned a lot about the world, but more importantly, I became genuinely interested in it, beyond just Mankato.

I learned a great deal the world from Mr. Walz, but most importantly I became interested in the world and what was going on around me, not just in Mankato but beyond. One thing that stuck with me was an exercise that we were able to do for extra credit. Once a week for extra credit students could come prepared to discuss a news story for 30 to 60 seconds that occurred in the past week. The only catch was that you could not repeat a news story a classmate already discussed. I was always in need of extra credit but unfortunately, we would go in alphabetical order one week and reverse alphabetical order the next, having a last name that starts with “H” places me near the middle regardless of the order, to earn extra credit I always needed to have a great many news stories ready to discuss to earn the extra credit. This forced me to read beyond the headline above the fold, the sports section, and the funny pages. I would scour the Mankato Free Press front to back in search of news stories to share. This exercise on its own made you interested in the world. Now pair that with an interactive encyclopedia, Mr. Walz and it was throwing gas on the fire of my newfound enthusiasm for learning.

I also remember attending Mr. Walz’s Congressional debate against Rep. Gil Gutknecht at Bethany Lutheran College. I don’t recall whether I was there for extra credit or simply out of interest, I do recall that I was excited to see Mr. Walz in a new role. So, I found a seat next to a group of my classmates that were attending and waited to watch my first in person congressional debate, riveting times for a 16-year-old. During the debate, when the topic of marriage equality came up, Rep. Gutknecht gave the canned response of the time that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I realized that I never really thought or knew how Mr. Walz viewed the issue. I remember time standing still as I waited for his answer knowing that this could be a moment when Mr. Walz for the first time to my knowledge would not stand up for all his students. (This is 2006, marriage equality was not popular for either party, certainly not popular in a conservative rural congressional district.) Mr. Walz responded with an answer to the extent of “Everyone should be able to enjoy the happiness that Gwen and I have.” I will forever remember Mr. Walz authenticity and courage in that moment.

Great teachers inspire and impact their students in profound ways. They give us hope, invest in our success, help us overcome obstacles, and motivate us to be our best selves. Mr. Walz embodied all these qualities and more. His influence inspired me to become more involved in my community and made politics seem accessible. It’s thanks to Mr. Walz that I developed an interest in the world and went on to serve on the Duluth City Council for six years. His impact also inspired me to coach high-school baseball.

It has been a fun exercise reading accounts of fellow classmates that had Mr. Walz. It is abundantly clear that I am not the only student that Mr. Walz has inspired, cared for, or made to feel like I belonged. The pure jubilation you are seeing on national television, his joy in the way he greets kids and the way he delivers his speeches is the same genuine, caring, kind and joyful human being we had as our teacher, Mr. Walz.