HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Jeremy Aydt has spent 19 years as an educator in the South Gibson School Corporation, 18 of those at Haubstadt Community School. Aydt now teaches physical education at Haubstadt and credits his teachers and coaches for the inspiration.
“My high school coach in cross country and track all 4 years, coach Hopewell. And I ran in college at the University of Evansville,” says Aydt, “Shane Thread was my coach there. Just had great male role models as teachers that inspired me to want to be a teacher.”
Aydt, an avid runner, is also the track and cross country coach for Gibson Southern, another avenue to build relationships and mentor student-athletes.
“Coaching young high school athletes is a way that hopefully inspire them and lead them to want to give back to the running community and to the education community,” explains Aydt. “It’s fun to see them see them, ‘Hey maybe I want to do this down the road,’ or the younger kids, ‘Maybe I can do this when I’m in middle school’.”
One possible inspiration comes from Aydt’s running of the 2014 Boston Marathon.
“Running in the Boston Marathon the year after the bombing was really special,” recalls Aydt. “I hope that I set a positive example for all the kids that I come in contact with, whether it be in the classroom, in the gym or out on the cross country course or track. They played a huge role in my life, and hopefully I’ve impacted them in some way, shape or form.”
Aydt advises future teachers to be involved and show students they care.
“You will impact them greatly no matter what you do or what position you hold in the school,” says Aydt. “There’s at least one kid that’s going to look up to you and there’s going to be a lot more that you don’t realize.”
Whether running, or teaching, Aydt wants his students to know that anything is possible.
“if you do things right and have a plan,” explains Aydt, “things can work out and you can run as far as you want to run and do things you don’t think you can do if you put your mind to it.”
