What Tim Walz Is Really Like, According To A Former Student
Tim Walz's impressive career took in turns in the Army National Guard, the House of Representatives, and the governor's seat in Minnesota. However, Tim and his wife Gwen Walz were both also high school teachers at one point and even taught at some of the same schools; first Alliance High School in Nebraska, followed by Mankato West High School in Minnesota. Tim taught geography and social studies, and after he was announced as Vice President Kamala Harris' VP pick, one of his former students shared how he had a positive impact on her life.
The Daily Beast reported that Patti Miller was a student in Tim's class at Mankato West. At the time, she was dealing with difficulties surrounding her family life, which led Miller's mental health to decline and in turn made school challenging. "I felt like an outsider," she admitted. Her mother even considered hospitalizing her. Miller continued, "It was tough. I guess I just didn't really know how to express my feelings very well. I didn't know how to deal with them."
Miller spoke about how being a part of Tim's class positively affected her outlook. And a big part of that was thanks to the man himself. According to Miller, Tim was devoted to his students' education and broadening their horizons. Since studying world history was a part of his class, the units on Taoism and Buddhism had a particular impact, "And I ended up getting into meditation because of that." Miller also said Tim was good at connecting with his students.
Tim Walz also had a major impact on his school's football team
Patti Miller's sister Kathryn (who was in Walz's class a few years prior) agreed he was a big help for her. Kathryn also confirmed that it was evident the future vice presidential candidate loved what he did. "He just seems really passionate about helping people live better lives," Kathryn informed the Daily Beast, optimistic he'd be the same as VP. Someone else that knew Walz from his Mankato West High School days was Rick Sutton, the head football coach. Walz was his assistant coach, and as Sutton detailed in an interview with the Daily Beast, "Tim was really great at selling his point of view and then accepting a different direction."
Sutton knew Walz would be a great addition to the coaching staff right away. Their team, the Scarlets, was on a bad losing streak when he first got started working with them. They really wanted to win and, as Sutton recalled, "Coach Walz was always an extremely positive guy." According to NBC News, Walz started as the linebackers' coach before becoming defensive coordinator.
The team won eight games in a row before nabbing the 1999 championship, partially because of Walz. As Dan Clement, a former football player, clarified, "He wasn't screaming when you failed. He was screaming when you did well. He's two fists over his head, jumping 3 feet in the air. That's how I envision Coach Walz." Similarly, Sutton offered her opinion to the Daily Beast on how Walz's good qualities would help him in politics too.
Many who knew him are happy about Tim Walz's candidacy
Tim Walz earned a notable superlative at Mankato West High School: According to NBC News, he was voted "most inspiring teacher." As former student Katie Heintz told the outlet, "He was probably one of the most well-liked teachers in the school while he taught there." Other students who have spoken up include members of Mankato West's first-ever Gay-Straight Alliance, for which Walz was an adviser. He was a supportive force for students more generally too. Former student Seth Elliot Meyer told NBC News, "I was a leftist punk rock, anti-everything kind of kid. In the year that I had him, what I learned is that he really cared about everyone and wanted everyone to be seen."
Even when other teachers weren't as supportive of Meyer, Walz always was. In fact, Meyer reconnected with several former classmates thanks to Walz's big news. He explained, "Even people who don't agree with him, they think this is a good guy, and it's time for American politics to have a good guy." Some of Walz's other former students have publicly asserted just how thrilled they are that he is a VP candidate too. As Laura Muhm, who had him in 11th grade over 20 years ago, excitedly disclosed to The Guardian, "I felt like I drank five shots of espresso. That's how energized I felt. Like, almost too energized." Additionally, Walz is sure to get under "weird" Donald Trump's skin.