The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was a book Mr. Jeffrey Rudy, Park View High School librarian, has read multiple times, all at different stages of his life. And at each stage, he saw the story from a different perspective. The first time he read the book, he was a teenager. He was able to relate to the main character and the struggles in his youth. Later on, he read it again in college, but his feelings towards the book hadn’t changed. It wasn’t until he read it a third time as a teacher, and the way he understood and viewed his students changed. From seeing himself reflected in the main character, Mr. Rudy sees the livelihoods and hardships of students in a new light.  

“I saw through a third lens and the character was you, and the character was you, and this character was all of my students,” Rudy said.

As a dual enrollment English teacher in Shenandoah County, Mr. Rudy was reminded of how hard it can be to balance life during high school. After he reread The Catcher in the Rye, he empathized with the students and found ways he could make students’ lives easier with the work he assigned in the classroom.

“I always believed as a teacher, giving students the academic freedom to read what they want to, and the students choosing to do their papers about things that interested them so that they would have a vested stake in what they were learning,” said Rudy.  

Mr. Rudy was able to easily slip himself into his students’ shoes. Not just by being in the mind of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, but also by reflecting on his teenage life. 

“[Holden Caulfield] was angry and frustrated with school and with adults and people telling him what to do. It was very refreshing to see someone that reminded me of myself,” said Rudy.

As a teenager growing up in the coal mining area of Pittsburgh, Mr. Rudy didn’t have the encouragement for his education as he now wishes he’d had.

“My dad was a coal miner with a ninth grade education, so education wasn’t valued in my house,” said Rudy.

After high school, Mr. Rudy attended community college before heading to University of Pittsburgh where he received his bachelors and masters degree in English. Being the first generation in his family to go to college, he found that he had to navigate his way through college on his own. 

“I was really sort of winging it and flying by the seat of my pants,” said Rudy.

His days during college were filled with difficult assignments and long shifts at his job at a bookstore. He wasn’t able to have the “traditional” college experience that most people anticipate. 

“Go to football games on Friday nights, or join a sorority or a fraternity – all those things that go with the perception of what college should be – but it wasn’t like that for me at all,” said Rudy.

Rudy now embraces the hardships he dealt with in college as moments of growth. But in the moment, felt he lacked the exposure and knowledge of resources in applying to colleges that his peers had in their back pocket. 

“It really was a grind, not having that background, not having mentors, not having people to talk to me about how to study, how to go to class, how to pay for college, how to fill out a FAFSA form,” said Rudy.  

But school wasn’t the only thing Mr. Rudy had to deal with. He also had to balance having a job to pay for college. Mr. Rudy specifically mentioned enjoying his time working at a bookstore.

“It was just so much fun being around the books and being around people who wanted to be with the books.”

Amidst his struggles to find a job after college, Mr. Rudy was given advice from a college professor. This advice opened a new door for Rudy and helped him navigate his career once he graduated. 

“He said ‘Did you ever think about teaching high school?’ I said ‘No,’ and he said, ‘you may want to try it. You need health insurance, you need a steady paycheck, and you need retirement,’ which I didn’t have.” 

Mr. Rudy now finds himself working in a mixture of his past jobs, an English teacher and bookstore worker, as a high school librarian. As a librarian at Park View High School, Mr. Rudy’s goal is to help students find the book that is just right for them.

“I think all of us are just one book away from being avid readers. We just have to find that one book, said Rudy.”

Not only is finding the right book important to Mr. Rudy, he believes students need more resources to navigate college. Based on his own experiences, he understands what it’s like to feel lost when college is right around the corner. Mr. Rudy encourages students to prepare for life after high school early on. A resource he recommends is Mr. Hinders’ college readiness class. You might even be able to find Rudy in some of those classes.

“I would love to come and share my story because it’s hard if you don’t know about what it’s like to be in college, ” said Rudy.

Mr. Rudy enjoys interacting with students and feels even more encouraged with the observations he’s made. He believes that the staff here at Park View create a positive atmosphere for students to feel welcomed and loved.

“I see the way that my colleagues interact with students and they talk to them in the hallways and I’ll see a teacher see someone and give them a hug or they know the students by name. There’s really a vested interest in you guys.”