Religious Education: a class you take when you are planning on getting confirmed. It is not entertaining. That’s how it was for me at St Teresa of Calcutta Church, in Hartland, Wisconsin. My class was not interested in the topics we discuss, as they are usually falling asleep during class. That was until we got a new teacher.

This new teacher is one of the most kind and outgoing people I know. He does not have enough room in his lean cross-country prototype body for any hate. This man is made of strictly kindness and knowledge and has a mission to share it with as many people as possible. This is shown by all of the other kid’s loves he has had a chance to impact. His name is Mr. Budzien, but we call him Mr. Bud.

Mr. Bud taught at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin, his whole career and had a positive impact on the school as well as the community. He was also the JV basketball coach for a little, while he taught here, as well as an assistant on the Varsity team. He now is still involved with Arrowhead High School even after retiring. He is the varsity basketball announcer on Tuesday and Friday nights as well as coaching the golf team. This shows his commitment to the school and community as he continues to help out and make the basketball games complete.

The way he came in and impacted my confirmation class was as if a light turned on, and the class could finally see not only the information, but the fun in religious education, and immediately everyone was getting more out of the class.

Mr. Bud indirectly made my parent’s lives easier by them not having to force me out of the house to go to class, because I actually wanted to go. He brings more energy than a puppy and more knowledge than the Urban Dictionary. He makes it fun and informing, it would be hard to pick out a flaw in his way of teaching.

One class Mr. Bud was telling us how our faith is just like a muscle and we have to work it out to make it stronger. This was a day when everyone in the class had no energy and we were just going through the motions like we used to with our old teachers. He singled me out and asked me how I was going to improve my shot in basketball and I answered with practice. He also singled other people out and the activities they are involved in (because he knows all his students that well). Even after all this everyone was still mopey and showed no interest so he dropped down to the floor and gave us 25 push-ups. He did this to grab our attention and to drill into our head the practice and work you have to put in to get the results you want. He always ties our learnings into the real world with Current Events as well as experiences he has had in his life. You never want to ask Mr. Bud a question if you are in a hurry, because he will explain it until he knows you understand, he will even get off topic sometimes but even then I am still learning something new.

I have learned such so much from Mr. Budzien. Things about my faith as well as how to go about life as I am growing up. He is the perfect role model and just a great man who did so much good for the Arrowhead Community. Although he took away my sleep time in religious ed, he did make a positive impact on my life.