Students know him as Mr. Pusch the physics teacher, but there is more to him than meets the eye … and ear.

Pusch is “kind, outgoing, and [has] a great sense of humor,” according to junior Lila Page. This “outgoing and funny” man was “shy and quiet” as a kid, according to Pusch.

Mr. P. is from a small town outside of Milwaukee with roughly 7,000 to 8,000 people. “We graduated, like, 12 students in the eighth grade.” said Pusch. He said he was a quiet kid and continued to be shy until his “last two years, then I came out quite a bit. I kinda discovered that I had a sense of humor.”

In high school Pusch participated in many activities. “I was a bandy,” he said, referring to his participation in band activities. Pusch also was a sprinter in high school. “The first of couple years I did the 100 and 200. Later on I did the 400. Then mostly 200 and 400.” He also played football freshman year and ran cross country senior year.

Pusch never went to prom in his high school years. “I went to Homecoming and the winter dance but never went to Prom” he said. Pusch was even voted onto the winter dance court.

Pusch is a Wisconsin faithful. He is a huge Green Bay Packer, Wisconsin Badger, and Milwaukee Brewer fan. He especially loves his Packers. “I have been a Packer fan since they sucked on an annual basis, and that was when I was little kid then. That takes guts, you know, being made fun of and all.” said Mr. P

After high school, Pusch attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It was in state and my folks lived only an hour and half away, which was perfect because it was close enough if I needed stuff but far enough away so they weren’t always there.” said Pusch. “And I mean, it worked for them too, you know, so I wouldn’t always be nagging them.”

Pusch went into the Engineering school at UW-Madison, which is highly competitive and challenging to get into.

His specific major was Electrical Engineering. The engineering school is a premium school, and not everyone sticks with it. “Attending an university with 40,000, I was in a class of 6-10 people.” he said. “That’s when you start getting a feel like, ‘wow, there just aren’t a lot of people doing this.’”

In college, Pusch met his wife. When they first met, Pusch was a sophomore and she was a freshman in the elite Engineering school. “Our dates consisted of us going to library and studying,” said Pusch. “We were in so far over our heads, we had to [study so much] in order to survive.” The sweethearts were engaged just before they graduated and now have been married for “a long time.” After college, Pusch and his wife both accepted jobs at the Motorola company in Schaumburg, Illinois. “I worked on radios that fireman or police officers used.” said Pusch, “Two way radios.”

While working in Illinois, Pusch received his masters at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). When he moved to Minnesota, Pusch got his teaching licence at Hamline University in St. Paul. He is working towards his dissertation for teaching degree.

As time moved, so did Pusch. “The world became more and more digital, and I became more and more a programmer, which was even more solitary. After a few years of 10-12 hour days in front of a computer screen all day, I knew I had to do something else.” said Mr. P. “I had considered going back for my PhD in engineering.” said Mr. P “But the last thing I wanted to do was go through more schooling.”

“Taking all of these variables into account, teaching high school seemed to be the perfect fit.” said Mr. P. “Ironically, when I  was in high school, I told everybody that I’d never be a high school teacher. I felt sorry for my teachers, my classmates were rude and self-centered. We have good kids here, so I’ve never looked back on my decision”  Beginning as a tutor at Orono,  Pusch. became a teacher in the 2006-07 school year. He said his favorite thing about teaching at Orono is “The people: the kids that I work with, and the faculty that I work with.” “

Students know that Puch has his own style and doesn’t go by the book. Junior Molly Peltier described Pusch as a “funny teacher and an enjoyable man.”

Jokingly, Pusch described himself as “tired.” In all seriousness, he said he is an “optimistic” person and is proud of that characteristic.

One hidden talent or something people don’t know about Pusch is that is he a part of a band. “It’s a swing jazz, country swing band, so we play a lot of older music like 30s and 40s.”

In high school he played guitar and piano, but continued with it through life. His current guitar teacher had a band and Pusch joined a couple of years ago. They don’t have a permanent name but for now they call themselves “Risk Factor”. They will be performing at the Riverview Cafe on April 26. “The hope is to pack the place so that they will ask us to come back provided we don’t suck.”

Pusch is not only a physics teacher but an optimistic, family man, band member, and Wisconsin die-hard.

 Pete Makarov is the Sports Editor for The Spartan Speaks