With the hazy afternoon sunlight streaming through the wrap-around windows, the fourth floor of St. Thomas Hall lulls students to drowsiness in the last few periods of the school day. However, the inactivity of St. Thomas cannot characterize all the lives of its teachers. As a professor three-fold in Collegiate Multivariable Calculus, AP Computer Science Principles, and CP Religion 3: Church History and Catholic Social Teaching, Todd Russ bears a unique title due to his heavy involvement in many departments.

His interest in all three subjects originates from his childhood. Raised in Crest Hill, he gained first-hand experience in computer technology through his father, who worked as a systems analyst in the early days of the Internet. Once at Joliet Catholic Academy, he found himself more and more intrigued by the applied sciences when he met his algebra and calculus teacher, Mr. Golf. His curriculum—although challenging—provided the discipline that Mr. Russ needed in order to chart his path in high school and beyond.

While Mr. Russ strengthened his skills to view the world quantitatively through mathematics, he explored society qualitatively through the humanities. Encouraged by his parents, he chose the organ as his first instrument to learn at age ten. After he enrolled at Joliet Catholic Academy, he received the opportunity to play at his local church as a parish musician.  Later, he would take both his talent at the organ and his interest in religion to Lewis University in Romeoville.

Though Mr. Russ double majored in mathematics and theology in 1998, he leaned towards a career in religion after college. He received his masters from the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) of Chicago in 2000, which propelled him to a part-time teaching position at the University of St. Francis in Joliet. During that time, his future wife, the current mathematics teacher Leona Russ, applied for a job at Benet Academy in the 2001-2002 school year. Mr. Russ would soon follow the next fall and dedicate more and more of his time to Lisle.

Over his twenty-four years at Benet, he applied the wisdom he gained from

college to his students. When teaching his multivariable calculus, he fundamentally believes that math—along with computer science at any level—can reveal important truths about the world. However, behind all the definitions, laws, and theorems of the applied sciences, he firmly declares that “no matter how much you know, there is always an entire world to learn.” Religion then steps in as a guide in such areas of uncertainty. But for all subjects he teaches, the students he meets, and the interests he enjoys, he regards self-discipline as key in the journey of life.