On the weekend, Ben Rudolph can be found jumping headfirst into adventures, such as rock climbing and surfing. Rudolph started rock climbing in high school, and since graduating from college, he has been able to further explore that interest.

“In October, I spent four days climbing at Red Rocks, which is in Las Vegas,” Rudolph said, “And right now Red Rocks is like a place that I’m really connected to. I’m gonna go back to Red Rocks next month, and I’ll spend like, kind of five days climbing Red Rocks next month.”

Rudolph has “dabbled” in a variety of outdoor activities, saying that they’ve always been a “defining” part of his life and favors rock climbing because it gives him perspective. According to Rudolph, his Red Rocks trip was especially notable because of that perspective. Spending all day climbing 1,000-foot-plus routes allowed him to get to places were most humans had never been.

“All the activities that I’m involved in are about exploration. I think there’s a lot of people who use rock climbing for personal growth,” Rudolph said. “You see a lot of growth in climbing, because most people are constantly trying to climb harder and harder things. But for me, it’s more about using rock climbing as a way to experience the natural environment.”

Searching for new perspectives is a common theme in Rudolph’s life. After graduating college, Rudolph went on to work in market research. But that path had never been his dream, and the job wasn’t fulfilling.

Growing up, Rudolph said he dreamed of becoming a teacher and was originally inspired in his eighth grade year.

“It was Mr. Sobota, and he was the P.E. teacher,” Rudolph said. “He made me feel confident. He made me feel supported. He was this other almost parental-esque figure in my life. And I was like, ‘I want to do what he does.’”

When Rudolph started college, his goal was still to become a teacher. He’d been involved in choir throughout his entire childhood, so Rudolph went on to study vocal music in college and had originally aimed to become a choir director. However, he was encouraged by his mother to pursue a different career path.

“So I went into business, and I worked for five years in marketing and mostly, in market research,” said Rudolph. “I worked for two different research firms, basically, learning about people’s habits when it comes to buying things. And I was, like, this is so stupid. I don’t want to be doing this at all. I want to be a teacher.”

Rudolph went back to graduation school to pursue that dream and since 2019 has been an English teacher at Dos Pueblos High School, teaching a variety of classes, including Innovate and Advanced Placement English Language and Composition.

“I want to be a part of helping other people be successful. I don’t really care about my own success,” Rudolph said. “I’ve always wanted to do something that I felt like contributed to other people’s happiness and well-being. And [it] just felt like teaching is like a pretty direct path towards that.”

Rudolph ultimately decided to teach English in hopes of maximizing his impact, teaching students critical skills.

“I think everybody needs to be literate. They need to understand how to make arguments, how to defend arguments,” Rudolph said. “No matter what you do, you’re gonna have to have some skill with the English language, or at least it’s gonna make your life easier if you have skill with the English language. I want to provide that opportunity for people.”