Hamilton woman remembers her high school teacher as 'the real deal.' Maybe you've heard of Tim Walz
The U.S. vice-presidential candidate taught Amanda Hinkle in Minnesota
When Amanda Hinkle thinks about her time in high school in Minnesota, she remembers a geography teacher who kept the class engaged and volunteered after school to help build the theatre sets she designed.
There are probably lots of people in Hamilton who have fond memories of their teachers. But Hinkle's memories are unique in that, by this time next month, Tim Walz might be voted in as U.S. vice-president.
"Growing up, everyone's always poo-pooing politicians and saying they're crooked. I've just always known him to be one of the most loving and caring adults in my life, and I can't imagine a better person for this role," Hinkle said. "He is the real deal."
Hinkle, who lives in Hamilton's Kirkendall neighbourhood, moved to the city in 2018.
Born and raised in the United States, she started attending Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minn., in 1997. She was in a class taught by Walz, now Minnesota's governor and the Democratic nominee for vice-president who's running alongside presidential candidate Kamala Harris. They're up against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his choice for vice-president, J.D. Vance, for the Nov. 5 election.
Hinkle also got lessons from Walz's wife Gwen, who taught humanities and helped with the school play. Now an educator in the theatre world, the expatriate said she learned a lot from both of them and has followed Walz's political career.
Recently, Hinkle was a guest at the Democratic Party's summer convention and an organizer of an online rally.
She said she has numerous positive memories about Tim and Gwen Walz, and called them the "cutest couple in the school."
Tim "has just always been a really transparent educator. He'll tell you if he doesn't know something," Hinkle said.
Walz has received some criticism to the contrary on the campaign trail.
For example, he has inflated his military rank and said his family used one form of fertility treatment, later saying they had used another. Walz also repeatedly said he was in Hong Kong during China's 1989 student uprising, which was not true.
At this month's vice-presidential debate, where moderators put both Vance and Walz on the spot about politically problematic parts of their records, Walz was asked about the Hong Kong claim.
He did not initially answer the question, saying, "I will talk a lot. I will get caught up in the rhetoric," but eventually said: "I got there that summer and misspoke."
For her part, Hinkle remembers Walz set a positive example when it came to supporting others in the community. He was faculty adviser to the gay-straight-alliance club her friend Jake Reitan started. She also remembers him encouraging students to volunteer their help when there was a natural disaster in a nearby community.
The lesson Hinkle took from that? "No matter how you vote, we help our neighbours."
"I feel like a lot of my classmates have really risen to that occasion and are trying to make changes in their own community on a lot of different levels, in a lot of different careers."
Hinkle now works as the director of education for Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble, which is based in New York. She's on the board of directors of the Hamilton arts organization Centre3 and is active in the city's theatre scene.
She's "kept tabs" on Walz's career. Her mom worked on his 2006 congressional campaign and she has former classmates who now work for him, Hinkle said.
This past summer, Hinkle said, Reitan invited her to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, during which he spoke in a video. She got to sit with a group of Walz supporters, which included more of his former students. She and several others made and wore campaign bracelets similar to the kind Taylor Swift fans make.
"It was wild," Hinkle said. "We were just screaming louder and louder."
After her first day there, she joined supporters at a brunch attended by Tim and Gwen Walz. Hinkle got to speak with them and give Gwen a bracelet her mom made.
"It was just great to thank them for all their work and get to celebrate with them," Hinkle said, adding that Tim is "exactly the same as on TV."
About a month later, Hinkle worked with a group to host an online campaign event where Gwen was speaking. Hinkle facilitated the conversation, which she said was largely around reproductive freedom.
Hinkle said she's "fired up" to vote in the U.S. election, which she will do by mail. She said she "loved" President Joe Biden and feels Harris, is vice-presient, is "super qualified" to replace him in the top job, but she's particularly excited by Walz's inclusion on the ticket.
"As someone who already is a governor, and who has served in Congress, and who has served in the military and been a teacher, he has got it all."
Burlington, Ont., resident and Democrats Abroad volunteer Tracy Hudson told CBC Hamilton in September that voting in U.S. elections is important for millions of expats and their children, who are often eligible to vote.
When she meets expats who don't vote, Hudson said, she reminds them that Americans abroad still file taxes in the U.S.
"We fought a revolution over no taxation without representation, so if you file taxes, you should be voting," she said.
For Hinkle, it's been "surreal" to have her high school geography teacher thrust onto the world stage.
"It's just wild to see your teacher at this level and have the whole world want to know everything about them."
But ahead of the closely watched U.S. election, she's feeling confident.
"We're in such great hands," she said. "I think we're going to be OK."
Clarifications
- A previous version of this story stated Gwen Walz taught Amanda Hinkle drama. She helped with the school play and taught her humanities. An earlier version also stated Jake Reitan spoke on stage during the DNC. In fact, he appeared in a video played there.Oct 19, 2024 12:19 PM ET
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Alexander Panetta