The West Bend Current

Teacher by day, alter ego by night. Teachers may not always talk about their other jobs, but many have fun side gigs.

Richard Prost, Carol Johnson, Brett Hartman, Dawn Abts and Mike Driscoll are just a few of many teachers at the West Bend High Schools who hold side jobs other than their normal day in the classroom. While some teachers have held these jobs for a short time, others began a different job before they even started teaching. From West Bend to Door County, these teachers love what they do and want to share why they do it. 

Prost, an East science teacher, says that he has been delivering pizza for Pizza Hut since 1999. 

“It’s a way to decompress,” Prost said. “I like driving around and listening to music. The best part is when I deliver to students, especially former students, because it’s fun catching up.” 

Prost says he even uses his job delivering pizza as a part of his teaching.

 “I like to use the adventures of an alter ego called the Crazy Pizza Guy that will show up in different problems in class.” 

This isn’t just a short-term gig. Prost started working at Dick’s Pizza, a beloved West Bend restaurant that closed in 2008, when he was 12 and worked there until he was 21.

“Then I got my teaching job, but I liked delivering so much, so on the weekends I would keep doing it,” he said. I would like to keep doing it until maybe I retire from teaching. The sauce is in my blood.”

Prost wants students to know that, “If you get hungry tonight, you know who to call.”

Prost isn’t the only one who incorporates his passion into his other job. East English teacher Carol Johnson says that she is a huge board game nerd, and that has translated into a side gig.

Johnson is a YouTube content creator for a board game company called Stonemeier Games, where she shows people how to play or demonstrates what’s new with the company.

“It’s a very friendly, tight and welcome community,” Johnson said. “I enjoy being part of it and sharing the enthusiasm. The company does a lot of good and tries to give back to the community. I love interacting with people in positive ways.”

Brett Hartman, also an East English teacher, is both a track coach and a National Honor Society adviser. When he’s not with students in the classroom, you could probably find him out running on the track with his team or at an NHS project site.

“Ever since I decided I wanted to be a teacher, I just assumed I wanted to coach, track in particular, because I ran in high school and college,” Hartman said, “I really liked the sport and how much my coaching has impacted me. I like the idea of giving back and creating a community that supports them.”

Hartman says that having different jobs lets him get to know students in a different way than seeing them in the classroom.

Some teachers work both jobs during the school year, but West Spanish teacher Dawn Abts keeps them separate. After the school year is over, Abts packs up and spends the summer in Door County, where she works at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik, a family-owned landmark in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, best known for keeping goats on the roof of their building.

Abts works in the gift shop and helps customers when they need it. 

“I love this job because you’re living vicariously through the tourists,” Abts said. “It’s a fun change of pace. The days go by fast because it’s always busy. It’s different than teaching because I don’t have to take work home.”

Her summer gig has given Abts more than something to do: it has become a home away from home. 

“I’ve become very close with the family and the workers,” Abts said. “I call them my Door County family.”

Mike Driscoll, an East English teacher, is known for all the crazy jobs he has held over the years. Besides being a teacher and 7-year coach of the West Bend Ice Bears hockey team, Driscoll is currently also a bartender in Cedarburg and a painter for his friend’s business. 

“The best part about these jobs is that you get to hear good stories from different clientele,” Driscoll said.

In the past, Driscoll worked as a firefighter for 15 years, worked safety and security in a jail, and worked in a cemetery, to name a few.

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Top image: East science teacher Richard Prost delivers pizza. Photo courtesy of Prost.