SHELBY – Rudy Studd is chasing a lifelong dream of officiating in the National Football League, all while striving to provide the best education possible for his sixth grade students.
Studd, whose family made Shelby home in 2015, is a sixth grade language arts and science teacher at Great River Connections Academy.
Based out of Columbus, the tuition-free virtual charter school serves students in grades K-12.
Teaching in a virtual environment has allowed the door on Studd’s officiating dream to stay open, while also providing him the chance to continue impacting young lives.
Change of plans
Studd said he originally envisioned a career in the engineering field, but conversations with his mother and a strong influence from his high school literature teacher inspired a change of heart.
“Mr. Gorman (literature teacher) just really made things come alive for me,” he said. “I wanted to emulate him and thought that teaching could be a way to impact a lot of people.”
Studd attended the University of Akron, where he received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and later earned a master’s degree in administration.
He began his teaching career at Wadsworth City Schools, but when Studd and his wife welcomed their first child he decided virtual education would be a better fit for his growing family.
Becoming a virtual teacher
Studd accepted his first virtual teaching position with the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), a former online community/charter school.
“It gave me an opportunity to continue being a teacher, while continuing to stay home with my kids,” he said. “It’s been an incredible opportunity to see my kids grow up.”
In 2020, Studd accepted his position at Great River Connections Academy, where he continues his more than 20 year teaching career today.
Studd said he’s always been passionate about teaching younger grade levels due to the substantial opportunities for student growth.
“They can be one thing one day, completely different the next day, and then back where they were the day before,” he said. “It gives me a great opportunity to impact kids at a very crucial developmental time in their life.”
Strong connections can be made in a virtual environment
Virtual education has made significant improvements in a short period of time, allowing for meaningful connections to blossom in an online environment, Studd said.
Communicating through mediums such as Zoom video conferencing and text messaging allows students to be themselves without fear of judgment from their peers, he said.
“They’re (students) not trying to dress anything up or worry about any kinds of other factors that might get in the way,” he said. “They can be as honest as they need to be in order to get the help they need.”
Virtual position provides flexibility
The ability to teach his students from anywhere with a quiet space and internet connection has also allowed Studd to continue pursuing his dream of becoming an NFL official.
Studd said his current career situation allows him to travel to a game site Thursday night and work from his hotel seamlessly on Friday morning, as if he never left home.
“It gives me an opportunity to still stay completely connected with all of my students, parents, and other staff like my co-teachers, which is incredible,” he said.
Studd’s father inspired love for officiating
His passion for officiating was inspired by his father, who served as an Ohio High School Athletic Association official for 35 years.
While growing up, Studd said the best way for him to spend time with his father was to tag along with him on Friday nights for high school football games.
“I would go with him and his crew on Friday nights and typically hold the chains,” he said. “It gave me an opportunity to be with my dad.”
When Studd reached the required minimum age to become an official, he passed the test and joined his father’s crew for what ended up being a 10 year period.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” he said. “It was thrilling, exciting, and a great way to build that relationship with him.”
Climbing the ladder
His college football officiating career began in the Ohio Athletic Conference, which competes in the NCAA’s Division III.
As he began climbing the ranks, Studd spent nine years officiating football for the Division I Mid-American Conference before transitioning to the Big Ten Conference.
Additionally, Studd has been accepted into the NFL Mackie Development Program, which trains and mentors current non-NFL officials to officiate football at the highest level.
“I’ve been officiating for over 30 years,” he said. “That (NFL officiating) is definitely my ultimate goal.”
In the meantime, Studd said his experiences officiating games in college atmospheres are hard to put into words.
“There is such a challenge every week to work a perfect game,” he said. “Just like any athlete wants to play the perfect game, as officials we want to work the perfect game.”
Connecting gridiron experiences to classroom practices
The weight of pressure cast down by thousands of screaming fans or coaches upset with a questionable call have contributed to techniques Studd said he uses as a teacher.
“Talking to (students) parents can be like talking to coaches sometimes,” he said.
“If I have a parent who’s upset over a bad grade or any myriad of reasons, I still need to be able to calm down, look at what the main problem is, and communicate through that problem so that we can continue to have a good year.”
Studd said officiating is a great opportunity to develop leadership and life skills, applicable to every aspect of life.
“There’s so many great life lessons in officiating,” he said. “And the people that you meet are lifelong friends.”