‘At the end of the day, I’m a teacher first’

OTHELLO — Rudy Ochoa II said the influences that led him to a teaching career were all around him.

His mom Gloria Ochoa is the clinical director and counselor for the alcohol/drug treatment program at Adams County Integrated Health. His dad Rudy Ochoa Sr. works at Scootney Springs Elementary, and as a coach in Othello, Rudy Sr. is something of a legend.

“My dad, he coached all of us,” Ochoa said.

Ochoa’s wife Eden is a teacher at Scootney Springs.

"I love that my wife loves teaching as well. We bounce our energy off each other," Ochoa wrote in a followup email.

His brother is a teacher and coach too; his sister was a teacher and coach, and still coaches. Another sister also is a coach, and so are two of his brothers-in-law, while his sister-in-law also works in education.

“It’s everywhere – all the people I’m surrounded by have that passion for helping others,” he said.

That drive to help others, especially children, is the motivation behind the teaching career that led him back to his hometown.

“I have a passion for helping others. I had good teachers, and it just felt like a way to give back,” he said.

Ochoa is the PE teacher at Lutacaga Elementary and the head Othello High School wrestling coach. He is an OHS graduate and earned his degree at Central Washington University.

Once high school is over, graduates often think their career path will lead them away from their hometown, but Ochoa said coming back to Othello was always an option.

“I always had it in my mind to come back,” he said.

And Othello is the kind of town that draws people back.

“I had (college) roommates – I think we’re all pretty much back in Othello,” he said.

"I love it here in this district. Always have. Administration is great, our school staff is great - it's fun. If I ever have questions there are definitely people all around me to help me find answers."

He’s in his 11th year of teaching at Lutacaga and he’s been the OHS head wrestling coach since 2015. Both roles are important, he said, but one predominates.

“At the end of the day, I see myself as a teacher first,” he said.

Physical education always appealed to him as a career choice, he said.

“(Physical education) was always my favorite subject. I had so much fun in PE,” he said. “I love sports, I love athletics, I love movement.”

His goal as a PE teacher is to teach his students to love movement and activity, he said. His grade school students make that a little easier.

“They love PE,” he said.

In fact, most elementary students still like school in general, and still love their teachers. That shows in PE when his students are willing to try all kinds of games, even ones they don’t like.

“They still give it their all,” he said. “The kids here at Lutacaga and in Othello are great kids to work with.”

Coaching wrestling provides the opportunity to get to know and work with high school students too, something Ochoa said is a privilege.

"I get to build a lot of bonds and connections with those students. Hopefully I can help build their character to be productive members of society," Ochoa wrote.

As an athlete back in his high school days, Ochoa said he knew his first job was to be a student, but that athletics has lessons that helped him after he graduated.

“It’s school first, and education first,” he said.

But one of the lessons he learned, and one he tries to pass on to his students and his wrestlers, is that there are tasks they will have to perform even if they don’t like them. He tells his PE students, he said, that they can’t decide not to participate in activities, any more than they can decide they don’t want to do math or reading.

“And that’s in life, too,” he said. As adults, his student’s won’t have the option of deciding they don’t want to do an assigned task.

Even after 10-plus years in the classroom and the wrestling room the job can still be a challenge.

“I still get nervous every once in a while,” he said.

He talks with the wrestlers about what he called “appropriate fear,” he said, the balance between overconfidence and a paralyzing fear. Ochoa said his faith helps him find that balance.

“I pray for the wisdom and knowledge daily, that I’m doing the right thing and benefiting the kids as much as possible,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.