For Jeffrey Rudy, each day of teaching or coaching is a new surprise. He has been teaching for 41 years, 21 of which have been dedicated to McCallum. Being an AP teacher, associate band director, coach for the McCallum swim team and accompanist for choir provides unexpected and fun experiences daily. He is passionate about every activity he is in charge of, such as color and winter guards, teaching music and the swim team.

According to junior color guard member Lark Thompson and senior choir major Ella Piston, the first impression upon meeting Rudy is that he can be intimidating and strict. Senior swim captain Mallory Beckham didn’t like him at first due to his swim workouts. 

“I was like ‘God, I don’t like this coach,’ but he grew on me because I had to spend more and more time with him,” Beckham said. “And I just realized that he just wants what’s best for us.” 

Thompson, Piston and Beckham believe that Rudy is always deeply invested in the team, guard and his students’ success. Thompson noticed it through his repetitive but necessary practice of specific choreography during color guard practice. 

“While this [repetition] was a bit frustrating at the time, it was clear that after that time spent, the work was much cleaner, and we all knew it much better,” Thompson said. 

Piston, who is taking Rudy’s AP music theory class, claimed that she is not necessarily the best at music theory, but that didn’t stop Rudy from trying to help her and other students who struggle as well. 

“Once you get to know him, it’s clear that he really cares about his students and their futures,” Piston said. “He’s a very supportive person and devotes a lot to McCallum and his students.” 

Beckham agrees with Piston that time and experience with Rudy enables students to get to know him and understand how he teaches or coaches. While he can be strict in his practice regimens, according to Beckham, the regimens always have a purpose. 

“Coach Rudy, he is very hard on us a lot of the time, but at the end of the day, he knows what’s best,” Beckham said. “I think he’s a very sweet and compassionate person who just wants the best for the team, and we aren’t always the nicest to him.”

Along with his devotion towards his students and athletes, Rudy is also passionate about the activities themselves. Thompson experienced it through a speech congratulating the color guard after a US Bands competition this year. Piston sees it through the joy music seems to bring him. Rudy himself sees it through his love for participating in every activity.

“It’s fun,” Rudy said. “I mean, I just really enjoy all those things. I just like working with students at this age level. And so all those things give me an opportunity to do the things that I really enjoy doing.” 

In addition to the passion students observe in Rudy,  Thompson says he can also be inadvertently funny.

“He was trying to teach us choreography [where we go] to go to a prop, and he described how he wanted us to walk by saying ‘float through gravity’ while lifting his leg and foot up in a very specific almost crablike way,” Thompson said. “It was the most unintentionally funny thing I have ever seen a person do, which I think is his hidden talent.”

Beckham was doing a set at practice, and while she was swimming, something shot across the sky. Rudy pointed it out as they returned to the wall and rested. 

“We all had just finished doing a really hard set,” Beckham said. “We hit the wall, and he said, ‘I just saw a shooting star, y’all missed it,’ but it always makes me laugh thinking about that.” 

His teaching style reflects his wish for everyone to succeed, which Piston says is very helpful. 

“It’s very methodical,” Piston said. “He’s a lot more organized than many of my other teachers, which I really appreciate. I also like how we practice everything from worksheets to ear training. It feels like a more engaging experience.

He also incorporates the artistic side of his career into different activities, including swimming, according to Beckham. This makes practice more enjoyable, too. 

“He gives us those fun things where he’s like, ‘Go along with the beat,’ or ‘Think of a song in your head,’” Beckham said. 

Despite the time it takes out of his schedule, Rudy still enjoys every activity he participates in. It is disappointing to not be able to spend as much time with his family as he would like, but he has learned to manage his time better in order to continue his role in these activities. 

“It’s tough on my family to be gone so much, but they’re very, very understanding, and they allow me to do the things that I enjoy,” Rudy said. “I used to think, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t miss [it].’ [Now,] a pretty important family function that’s gonna get some priority here, but it took 40 years for me to figure that out.” 

Rudy loves all the activities he gets to be involved in but also the surprise that comes with each new class or practice. He enjoys getting to do swim team and color and winter guard because he is able to watch people go through all of high school. According to Rudy, it makes every day fun and exciting. 

“You never know what you’re going to get,” Jeffery Rudy said. “Like that quote from Forrest Gump: ‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.’”