He’s the guy everyone sees, but no one really knows. He’s always smiling and wearing a sharp cardigan, walking around the halls.

John Laudert is the school’s assessment coordinator. He takes kids in the halls or his dungeon (his room) to test certain agendas, then sends reports to the parents and teachers. He has been with New Ulm High School for 10 years, helping kids for almost 40 years, starting in the center of Minneapolis.

“Yeah, so I’ve been in teaching for 40-something years. Which is a long career, but good,” Laudert said.

John is a simple guy; he likes sports, making quilts, and carving wood.

On his days off, he makes stuff for his shelf in his room or sews quilts at home. On his shelf, he also includes pictures he took with famous people, expressing his love for boxing with his picture of himself and George Foreman on display.

“I don’t do as much as I would like to because I don’t have the energy that I had. But I still dabble in it,” he said.

John came from Minneapolis for his Daughter, who lived in Gaylord. After retiring from Minneapolis, he decided he wanted to relive the career of teaching and helping kids so he applied for a substitute position at New Ulm Public High School, but was offered the Assessment coordinator position.

“So we moved, and I was only 55, 57 years old. So I thought maybe I’ll go back to work with kids for a little while.”