Changing the Lives of Aspiring Artists: An Interview with Media Teacher Dave Roush

We’ve all had that one teacher who influenced and changed our lives. Some for the worse, but most that we remember are for the better. Speaking with Dave Roush, it’s clear he is always the latter.

In a different life, Dave was an on-air journalist. One day, fate called. Being asked to present as a professional at a local high school the principal really saw an opportunity to bring Dave on as a media teacher. Dave jumped at the chance to influence the next generation and found a new passion and love for his educational background.

His persistence in helping student’s find not only their original voices, but also their self-confidence, has propelled Dave forward with his understanding of current software, technology and how it can help his student’s growth.

In fact, he prepares his students each year to enter competitions.

They’re not used to having to have original thinking and problem solving and trial and error… my particular class has forced them to do that.”

-Dave Roush

One of these competitions is run by the Walt Disney Company and is run by one of the head anchors in New York City, Sade Baderinwa. This competition involves workshops held by top actors, anchors, and executives. At the end of the day, the students are asked to tasked to create a 30 second PSA about a topic of their choice. The Disney Corporation offers $50,000 in prize money.

For Dave’s students, they have accumulated $66,000 in prize money over the past few years, often times winning $12,000 for first place.

It’s teachers who inspire us, who help us create a world that we design, and who, just like Dave Roush, encourage students to pursue their wildest dreams.

You can find Dave at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dave_roush_nyc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dave_roush_nyc?lang=en