Former Alliance Public Schools Teacher Tim Walz has gained national attention after being selected by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate in the 2024 Presidential election.
Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska, and grew up in Valentine. He graduated from Butte High School. In 1989, he graduated from Chadron State College and came to Alliance in the 1990s, joining the staff at Alliance Public Schools as a Geography teacher, after spending time teaching English abroad in China. The Alliance Times-Herald ran his photo in the Aug. 16, 1991 edition announcing that he had been hired to teach sixth grade social studies. He also served as a coach.
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According to articles published by the Alliance Times-Herald, throughout his teaching career in Alliance, he was recognized for keeping the subject of geography an interesting one by citing real-life examples and sharing his breadth of experiences he had from traveling throughout Asia, teaching in China and serving in the National Guard. One article, published on April 3, 1993, explained that his love for adventure came from his childhood. He told the Times-Herald in that article that as a child, he was not allowed to watch much television, so he turned to books for entertainment.
“Reading about all of the far-off exotic places and the things that went on in them really made me want to travel and see them for myself,” said Walz. “Since I was from a small town, I found myself wanting to get out and see what else the world had to offer.”
In the classroom, Walz would give life to the subject by having guest speakers from other nations to share their experiences, and even having his students send letters to Chinese students to learn what life was like, and how they viewed their nation. He told the Times-Herald in an article published Nov. 12, 1991 that he wanted students to understand that people in other nations may have different views and beliefs than what their government represents.
“That’s the reason we study geography and history, to learn about other people,” Walz said. “Geography and history are not just about wars, dead people and old buildings. The best way to study about people is to hear them tell what it is like where they live.”
In the summer of 1993, he even organized a trip for 26 students to study Asian culture at the university in Guangzhou, China. Another trip was planned for the summer of 1994, providing students with even more opportunities to learn about life in China.
In November of 1993, Walz was recognized as one of 10 Outstanding Young Nebraskans by the Nebraska Jaycees after being nominated by the Alliance Jaycee Chapter.
Walz submitted his resignation from Alliance Public Schools, along with his wife Gwen, who also taught at Alliance Public Schools, in July 1996, and later moved to Gwen’s hometown of Mankato, Minnesota.
In 2018, Tim Walz was elected as the Governor of Minnesota, and he is currently serving there in his second term. The announcement that he was selected by Harris to serve as her running mate came last Tuesday.