Tim Walz: Former high school social studies teacher, veteran, current US Congressman, and candidate for Minnesota Governor.

Today an astounding number of talented educators are accomplishing great things in politics. One of these is Tim Walz, a former teacher and current US Congressman who is running for the office of governor of Minnesota. In last summer’s primary, Tim garnered the Democratic nomination for his state’s top office.

Tim points with pride to the fact that he was raised in a small town in rural Nebraska. “Small-town life and working on family farms each summer taught me fundamental lessons about the importance of family and the value of hard work,” Tim declares. “I had wonderful public school teachers, great neighbors, and loving parents,” he recalls.

As a teenager, Tim graduated from Nebraska’s Butte High School. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Army National Guard, and by 1989, he was honored as Nebraska’s Citizen-Soldier of the Year. As a young man, Tim traveled the country working at a number of odd jobs, including building grain silos, factory work, and mortgage loan processing. During this time, he accepted a temporary teaching position at the Native American Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. His stint there convinced Tim to choose education as his life profession.

Tim enrolled in Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences in 1989. The next year, Harvard University offered him a teaching position with one of the first government-approved groups of American teachers to work in the People’s Republic of China. He worked there from 1989-1990.

When he returned from China, Tim settled in his home town in Nebraska, and resumed teaching and coaching. He also inaugurated a small business, the Educational Travel Adventures, Inc., which offered opportunities for American high school students to take trips to China. It didn’t take long for Tim’s community to recognize how exceptional the young teacher was. In 1993, he was named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Junior Chamber of Commerce for his service in education, small-business, and the military.

Tim and his wife Gwen, a Minnesota native, moved to Mankato, Minnesota, in 1996, where Tim became a teacher and football coach at Mankato West High School. There he helped coach the football team to win the school’s first state championship.

For his work in the classroom, Tim has earned many accolades. He was named a Minnesota Ethics in Education Award winner in 2002, and in 2003 he garnered honors as both the Mankato Teacher of the Year and a Minnesota Teacher of Excellence. After this, Tim completed his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership (2001) and enrolled in a doctoral program at St. Mary’s University in Winona.

In 2004, the social studies educator decided to become personally involved in politics. He ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2006 and won, defeating six-term incumbent Gil Gutknecht. Tim was re-elected to five more terms. As a Congressman, Tim is a member of the House Agriculture Committee and currently serves as the ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Tim also serves as co-chair of the National Guard & Reserve Components Caucus, the House Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. In addition, he co-founded the Congressional Propane Caucus.

In last summer’s primary, this impressive former teacher won the Democratic nomination for governor of the state of Minnesota. His name will appear on the ballot in this November’s mid-term elections. To learn more, you can visit his website at www.walzflanagan.org.