There are teachers you don’t like: the dull, mean, and monotone. And there are the teachers you do like: the entertaining, easy, and energetic. Then there’s Mr. Greg Budzien. Standing no taller than five feet ten inches, he has the energy of an eight-year-old after drinking a Mountain Dew. Make that two Mountain Dews.

Mr. Budzien, “Bud,” was my second semester English 11 teacher, as well as my golf coach for the past three years. I was having trouble with my golf swing at the end of my junior varsity season. Going into the conference championship match, I knew he wanted to win more than anything. He believed in me enough to meet with me at the driving range after practice to help me with my swing. He took an hour out of his day to help me.

Bud is as passionate about golf as he is teaching. While he was teaching, he would almost break a sweat. He would run across the room, act out the stories, and even get really into the stories he was telling us. He even turned poetry into a topic that everyone paid attention to.

I always used to call English my nap class. I never paid attention because I thought it was boring and I was awful at it. Bud gave me ways to make reading poetry and plays easier so we understood them.

Mr. Greg Budzien puts so much energy and enthusiasm into his teaching and coaching. There is never a dull moment with Bud. He is an eight-year-old trapped in a fifty-year-old’s body. His energy is overwhelming, yet in its own weird way, entertaining and enjoyable. His walk is a run, his whisper a yell, and his lessons a gift.