What Mr. Walz’s former students have to say about the Democratic VP nominee

For most Americans, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s campaign debut with Vice President Harris this week is an introduction. For his former students, it’s the culmination of a rise they’ve been relishing for years.

Before landing on Harris’s radar, Walz was a global studies teacher and assistant football coach at Mankato West High School in the 1990s and early 2000s. Mr. Walz ended his teaching career when he won a seat in Congress in 2006, but Walz’s students still remember him fondly to this day.

At a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday, Walz in turn credited his students for his rise in politics.

"It was my students who encouraged me to run for office. I never thought that much about it," Walz said. "But they saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them — this idea of a commitment to a better world, a common good. A belief that one single person can actually make a difference."

NPR spoke with some of Walz's former students to get a closer look into his character and those lessons he tried to pass on.

The students were downright giddy about the possibility that their former teacher could be the vice president. Their text chains lit up with old pictures and stories about Walz. One described it as surreal. Another marveled at what a normal guy he still is. Another said he was glad America was finally getting to know the man who was so important to them.

From the classroom and the football field

Students say Walz taught his global studies class in a way that got everyone involved in the conversation — and pushed them to expand their horizons.

Noah Hobbs, one former global studies student, says he was a C student and could have easily slipped through the cracks. But Walz took an interest in him, and the enthusiasm motivated Hobbs