LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Scott Bruening was nominated anonymously. 

"During my junior year at Kettle Moraine High School, I decided to take Woods 1. I considered taking a tech ed class and decided to try it. I was expecting a teacher I had in middle school to be teaching the class. Ultimately, I didn't have my old teacher, but Mr. Bruening—someone I didn't know. I didn't know any other students in the class. On the first day, I walked in and recognized familiar faces, but we weren't friends—just faces in the hallway. To make it worse, I was the only girl in the class. But after the first five minutes of the class, I enjoyed it, thanks to Mr. Bruening. One of the first things he said to me was that I would do the best in the class because I would listen to his instructions and pay attention. I wasn't sure I would be the best student in the class, and how he knew what my habits were like. But I decided to prove him right and work hard in the class," said the nominator.

"From the beginning, he pushed away my fears of the class and made me feel comfortable in his class. New classes and experiences can be scary when we don't know what will come next. A good teacher will help you keep going and ease your anxieties about performing in class. He ensured that I felt comfortable about the operations I was performing on the machines and wouldn't get hurt. He cares about his students and wants them to have fun in his class without fearing being injured. After the first day of class, I was excited to work on projects. Some of the machinery was new to me, as was the process of how to square a board. Mr. Bruening was always open to questions and was very helpful. He would rather us ask him questions to get the project right and not hurt ourselves. I think he genuinely cared about our safety and not just because he would need to file an accident report if we got hurt," said the nominator.

"He made lots of jokes and different impressions of students during the class to make it fun. One of our projects that semester was to make a cutting board out of different types of wood. I used maple, cherry, and walnut wood for my cutting board. While rounding the corners of my cutting board on the router table, I made a mistake and took a small chunk out of the board. I thought I would have to redo the entire project, but he stepped in to help. He took a small slice of wood off each side to eliminate the mistake. Now the cutting board is fully functional and, with his help, looks amazing, and you can't tell where I made the mistake. One of my takeaways from this project is that mistakes happen, and we shouldn't focus on them. Everyone makes mistakes, but our teachers are there to support us and help us fix the problem. Even when we make big mistakes, teachers will help us turn it around and help us learn from the mistakes we make. This is the epitome of a great teacher, and that is what Mr. Bruening does," said the nominator.

"Mr. Bruening is a great teacher because he teaches you how to do a skill, and then you can help others when they are having trouble. After finishing our cutting board project, we used the laser engraver to put our names on the back. He showed me how to do it, and then after that, while the stain was drying on my board, I could help others. After my experience in Mr. Bruening's class during junior year, I decided I wanted to take another class with him. Our class used laser engravers, and I liked working with the programming and the machine, so I signed up for his Engineering 1 class in my senior year. In Engineering 1, I have learned much about different design programs and how to use the laser engraver and CNC Mill. I have been able to make a custom keychain and set of coasters. Later in the class, as our final project, we were instructed to create a bigger project. I did lots of research to find a design I loved. I created a sign for UW-Platteville, where I will attend college next year. I came up with the idea, and he helped it come to life. After designing the project on the computer, he helped me set up the CNC machine to create the sign. The sign turned out okay on the first go, but he helped me fix the file to make the sign look even better. The sign still would have been fine the first time, but after the second running of the job, it looked amazing. That's who Mr. Bruening is. He helps his students make the best-looking projects," said the nominator.

"I had a fun time in his class again this year. He still cares about his students and helps them create good projects. He makes his class fun and pushes his students to success. He is an amazing teacher and teaches students vital life skills. He helps them learn how to build stuff with their own two hands. We will all need these skills, and Mr. Bruening is teaching us to reach for the stars and take over the world in the future. Even though I am pursuing a career in Chemistry and will not use these skills in the workplace, I will need them for my entire life. When something breaks in my home, I now have the skills to fix it. Thank you, Mr. Bruening, for teaching me vital life skills, creating a safe place in your classes, and helping my future be bright," said the nominator.