Senior Spotlight: Rusho Moinuddin, Green Level High School

You can’t miss Rusho Moinuddin.

He’s a 6’4”, 310-pound offensive lineman with a big personality to match.

“He’s like a big teddy bear,” says his Spanish teacher, Maria Delgado. “He’s huge, and he’s also very nice. He looks like a tough guy on the outside, but he’s like a little kid on the inside. In a good way. 

“He’s going to get mad at me for saying that,” she added with a laugh.

But it’s not just his stature or his outgoing demeanor that have made Rusho stand out at Green Level High School. Inside and outside of the classroom, Rusho has been a positive and transformative force at Green Level, especially for his fellow Hispanic students.

Two years ago, he founded the Hispanic Student Union, the first club at the school just for Hispanic students. With support from teachers and administrators, the club attracted 20 members in its first full year and has grown ever since. Rusho hopes it is his lasting legacy as he heads to Virginia Tech University this fall with hopes of walking onto the football team. 

“I didn’t [start the club] to have it on my resume,” he says. “I started it because I was passionate about my people, and I wanted to help uplift my community.”

‘Go do it’

The idea came to him when he joined the Spanish Honor Society as a sophomore and realized that there were very few Hispanic students in the club. “It just didn’t sit right with me,” recalls Rusho, whose mother is from Venezuela and whose father is from Bangladesh. “I just remember thinking, ‘We need to be doing more for the Hispanic community.’”

He shared this concern with family members, who said, “Why don’t you start your own club?”

“I was hesitant at first,” Rusho admits.

But then he got encouragement from Mrs. Delgado, who told him, “If you want to do it, go do it.”

“She has supported me through and through since Day 1,” Rusho says.

At the start of his junior year, Rusho was asked to prepare a presentation for a teacher workday that was focused on inclusivity. 

The presentation pointed out that while Hispanic students made up about 7% of the student population, more than 80 students, they often felt invisible. “I took pictures of the murals around the school, and included them in the presentation,” Rusho says. “I said, ‘In these murals, I don’t see anyone with a skin tone that looks like me, I don’t see anything that lets people know there are Hispanic students at our school.’”

He made the case that Hispanic students needed “a safe space where we can advocate for ourselves, where we can get to know each other, and, most importantly, we can be one, we can be a community.”

'Culture, community, service'

It didn’t catch on right away. The first interest meeting drew two people. So Principal Karen Summers sent a message from Rusho to all of the school’s Hispanic students. 

It read in part: “As a fellow Latino at the school, I understand that sometimes it's hard for our voice to be heard or for us to be represented. … I decided to make the Hispanic Student Union club as a space where we can feel safe in sharing our ideas, as well as a place where we can advocate for ourselves.”

That drew 45 people, from which 20 remained as active members. Today the club has about 30 members, and Rusho expects it to continue growing. 

The club has conducted a number of service projects, including a toy drive for English-as-Second-Language students at Mills Park Elementary. Students gathered about 60 donations then delivered the toys to the school and took time to play with the happy recipients. “To be able to make their day like that,” Rusho says, “it really meant a lot.”

The club also likes to have a good time, hosting a number of social events, including volleyball and soccer matches and Christmas parties. “Being able to celebrate each other’s cultures is so important,” Rusho says. “If I could pick three words to describe what the Hispanic Student Union is about, I’d say It’s culture, it’s community, and it’s service.”

'It's Rusho's school'

Rusho has managed to be the driving force behind the Hispanic Student Union while juggling many other responsibilities. There’s football, of course, and he works many hours a week at the YMCA giving swim lessons. The money he earns helps support his family.

Rusho’s social studies teacher, Ralph Moore, says Rusho also fully engages in student life. He noted Rusho can often be seen doing on-camera interviews as part of school announcements. “He’s ubiquitous,” Mr. Moore says. “It’s like it’s Rusho’s school, and we’re all just living in it.”

Rusho also makes his presence felt in the classroom - in a good way. “He makes every class he’s in better,” Mr. Moore says. “He engages, and he lifts the classroom with him. Not in an obnoxious, or goody two shoes, or wanting to be the teacher’s pet kind of way, but because he wants to learn. He’s not just this happy, funny goofball that everybody loves. That’s part of him, but that doesn’t define him. He’s very thoughtful, and he’s a serious student.”

Mr. Moore says the support students like Rusho have received is a sign of the inclusive culture at Green Level. “Karen Summers has built a school that truly values inclusiveness and diversity, and Rusho embodies all of that,” Mr. Moore says. “Those are not just words, that’s true.”

'The sacrifices were worth it'

For all the ways he has made his school and his community a better place, Rusho was nominated by Principal Summers for a Spotlight on Students recognition, which was presented by the superintendent at a February school board meeting. He says his mom cried when he called to tell her the news. “I guess it was the universe telling her the sacrifices were worth it,” Rusho says.

It was also validation after a hectic year of trying to balance it all: school, sports, clubs, work, and family responsibilities. “I had to go through a lot the last nine months,” Rusho says. “I could have quit, but I didn’t. I just hope that if people read that, they know that I don’t do these things for status or for college applications. I do them because I’m passionate about them.”

Rusho is optimistic about the future and proud of the legacy he leaves behind, knowing that the club he founded is in good hands. “To see my community finally get uplifted and get a spotlight shined on them, that means the world,” he says. “Regardless of what happens, what’s important is how you handle it and how you move on. You have to keep moving. You can never lose sight of your goals.”