Here at Pasco High, we have the best teachers, but no one compares to our beloved Mr. Rust. He is our photography, yearbook and social media marketing teacher. He has been teaching for six years and has been doing an extraordinary job. To top it off he still loves his job just as much has when he started. 

Mr. Rust became a teacher because he was poor, and he had noticed schools were in need of photography teachers. He was intrigued and went to the meeting on how to be a teacher. Mr. Rust was a professional photographer taking pictures for all the school sports. Mrs. Schneider, our DECA teacher, had noticed Rust taking pictures of one of her daughter’s soccer games at Kamiakin High School. She had heard of Rust and asked him if he could take pictures for the “Every 15 Minutes” program back in spring of 2016. Mr. Johnson, who was the yearbook teacher for Pasco High at the time, had moved to Southridge and told Pasco High about Rust.  

Rust eventually got the job here at Pasco High. Mr. Rust did not get to pick what school to teach in. From the start he wanted to be the 3rd photography teacher at Kamiakin. But he wasn’t supposed to there, so he got moved Pasco High. He says, “I don’t think I picked Pasco, I think Pasco picked me”. 

According to Mr. Rust he loves his job as a teacher. He commented, “Love it, absolutely love it. I am so blessed I get to be surrounded by the most amazing knuckleheads and human beings that I can imagine. My heart just melts every day.” 

Covid-19 has affected his teaching skills because Mr. Rust loves being around his students/kids. He says it affected his brain and heart because he feels loved being around his kids in a classroom. In his words, “It was horrible. I am passionate about photography, passionate about yearbook, passionate about my teaching, passionate about my kids and not to be able to be with them. It just completely sucked.”

The most important thing to Rust is honesty and his students. Rust’s kids (students) are what keeps him motivated and are the reason why he wakes up every morning. “No matter how difficult it is, how many bad days or how many knuckle headed kids do stupid things or anything, I don’t ever wanna sound as a quitter.” 

The hardest/worst part of teaching for Rust is doing the paperwork, making assignments and putting in grades but he definitely loves being a teacher. He loves his students, the relationships he’s built over the years with his students and colleagues is what fun teaching for him. Rust’s best teaching memory was his first day on the job. Mr. Johnson had told Rust, “Don’t ever let your students see you cry” and on his first week being a teacher in his first period he said, “Hey I’m Mr. Rust” and I started crying, not even five seconds in and I could barely get my name out.” He also said, “because again I feel so blessed to do this job this is honestly the best job in the world”  

A quote Rust lives by is “Always seek the sunrise.”  He then continued, “At night when you’re the loneliest, it’s the darkest…the coldest and it’s the most difficult part of the day- if you can seek the sunrise and get through the night, that light of the next day is hopefully going to warm you up and illuminate possibilities you didn’t know can happen, and if you can live to the next day it can still be horrible experience then seek the next sunrise, that next day can be the day of the best part of your life.” 

 A junior and former student of Rust who has known him for two years, wanted to say a few words.

“Rust is a great teacher, because not only does he care about his students as if they were  his own children, he cares about how we’re doing and wants nothing but the best for us, whether a person known him for a week or year(s). He has a huge heart and you’re lucky to have him as a teacher even get to know him in general.”  

 Overall, Mr. Rust is the best teacher here at Pasco High School. When teaching not only he will teach the lesson but will explain it multiple ways, so any student can be able to understand. Even try to make it relatable to them. Whenever a person is in need any help or advice he will gladly help. He loves his students equally and will treat them like they were his daughter/son. Every day he will remind his students how important they are, and they can achieve anything. Once a person meets him, he will see something in them they didn’t know they had. He is just one of a kind, there is no teacher like Rust who is supportive, honest, loyal, funny and will be there for anyone.