Abilene ISD -

Dustin Moore is as comfortable sitting in the saddle of his horse as he is standing in front of students teaching a class or slipping on a welder’s helmet and showing those students the finer points of an arc spot weld.

In his first year at The LIFT as the district’s welding teacher after spending 15 years in other Big Country school districts, Moore is a man of many talents. Some might say a bit of a Renaissance Man.

Moore grew up near Lawn and rodeoed in high school at Jim Ned and in college at Tarleton State University, where he earned a degree in Agriculture Service and Development in 2006. He rodeoed professionally briefly and still competes as a calf roper. He’s also an award-winning teacher who has helped his students win championships, honors, and awards for their welding skills.

Despite his varied interests, Moore said he didn’t have a fallback plan from his original career goal.

“I planned to be a teacher,” he said. “I never had a minor in college. My teachers at Jim Ned had a significant impact on me. We built a trailer in the shop at Jim Ned when I was a student there, and when I saw what my teachers did and how they interacted with us, I knew then that this was what I wanted to do. I believe this is what God created me to do.

“I’ve had a lot of great job offers in the industry, but I just can’t do it,” Moore said. “I believe I’m supposed to teach, and God protected me and put me through college. I wouldn’t have made it without Him. He had a plan, and I believe that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.”

Moore said after teaching at some smaller area high schools to start his career, he thought his stop at another Big Country school district would be his last. He “blossomed” as a teacher in the district, worked on several welding projects, built trailers, barbecue pits, and smokers with his students, and won championships at contests with those builds.

Then his home school district called. He decided he needed to go home and thought that would be his final move. He started there in the fall of 2020, bringing the high school welding program back to life.

“That was my goal when I went there, and I believe we accomplished that goal,” Moore said.

On a tour of a local business with his students, he learned that former AISD welding instructor Zach Hageman was leaving to take a job in the private sector. That’s when the wheels of fate began to spin. He called Hageman – not intending to ask about the job in AISD – but to check on him and ask what he would be doing.

That call turned into a 90-minute conversation, and at the end, Moore was thinking about the job with AISD, the equipment and technology available at The LIFT, and the potential the job offered. Then he got a phone call from another ag teacher in the Big Country, telling Moore that the AISD job was right up his alley. Three other ag teachers in the area called him, encouraging him to make a run at the job.

Moore has experience in several welding disciplines and could use that expertise in AISD, which has the capability at The LIFT that other districts don’t have.

“The people I talked to about this job knew this job fit me from the standpoint of what I’ve been teaching,” Moore said. “My favorite class is teaching that intro class, where I teach every welding process, where I teach safety, and we go in-depth on grinders and chop saws and ironwork. We get down to the nuts and bolts. I enjoy that because you see kids that have never done this before, and they take an interest in it and blossom.”

Moore said he will be leading a project this year, but it might be a smaller job this year than what will happen in the future as he gets to know his surroundings and students.

“I think I want to figure this whole thing out this first year before we jump into big projects,” he said. “I want to prepare these kids for the industry after high school. The projects are a big deal, but this year is about me learning about the students and them learning about me.”

What they’ll learn about Moore is that he’s competitive, whether leading a welding or Ag Mech project or roping calves on his horse, Collins. And what he wants to know about his students is what makes them tick.

“I want to get to know them personally,” he said. “What do they like? Is it sports? Video games? Roping? Cars? You never know until you talk to them and take the time to get to know them. It’s good to have something we can discuss to build trust, which makes this job so much fun.”