A light brown wooden door bears a green sheet containing his class schedule and office hours while large light yellow bookshelves tower around two of the four office walls. There are typical things one would expect to find in a government instructor’s office. A “Democrat Parking Only” sign and pictures of past presidents proudly grace the walls and shelves of the Joseph “Rusty” Thysell’s Peltier Hall office.
However, three framed pictures of Julia Roberts, each bigger than the other are not typical.
“I used to have one on my door, but someone took it,” Thysell says. “I guess somebody loved her more than I did. I should probably put another one up there.”
What may be even more unusual is finding questions about the Oscar-winning actress as bonus questions on government tests; however, students have become accustomed to it.
“That’s just simple basic knowledge,” Thysell says. “Everyone should know that.”
Tierra Anthony, freshman from Houma, knows this all too well, having taken him for Government 101. Anthony said it was the first time she was ever required to know “the color of Julia Roberts’ hair in the movie ‘Pretty Woman,'” or “the age of Julia Roberts'” on tests until she took Thysell’s class.
“He is really fun, a bit goofy at times, but fun,” Anthony said. “It’s a little different because he writes real big on the board and uses Julia Roberts as test questions, but it’s a class you don’t forget. He knows the material; it’s very interesting.”
For a South Dakota native who prefers the teeth-chattering cold to the hot Louisiana sun, what else is there to expect? Despite not taking a liking to seafood, preferring red meat or pork, Thysell has called south Louisiana home for the last 14 years.
Then again, for a Civil War buff, what is there not to like about the South’s history of the major event of the 19th Century.
“I had never been south of the Mason Dixon line until I moved to Louisiana,” Thysell said. “I like the old battlefields, the culture and the atmosphere surrounding the Civil War. That’s what drew me here.”
After spending his childhood in South Dakota, Thysell attended the University of South Dakota earning his bachelor’s degree. He then attended Oklahoma University, receiving his master’s and obtaining his doctorate at the University of Northern Arizona. In 1993, he came to Nicholls.
Prior to his teaching career, Thysell was a member of the United States Air Force for six years. While active, Thysell was able to live his dream and travel the world, which included living three years in England.
Despite leaving the Air Force in December 1986 to pursue his doctorate, Thysell often reminisces on his days in the Air Force, as displayed in his photos in his Air Force uniform. Thysell said he was able to experience things he never thought he would.
“Living on a military base had its ups and downs, but just like anything, you learn to accept it,” Thysell said. “On the down side, I was away from home, but it gave me a chance to travel the world, meet a different set of people, and it gave me new experiences.”
Thysell’s service and overall knowledge of political topics have earned the respect of his colleagues including Russell Price, associate professor of history and social sciences, who said Thysell is someone he never gets tired of hearing.
“I always say he single-handedly won the Cold War for us,” Price said laughing. “He’s a Civil War buff, a history buff and a Nazi buff. He can name the most obscure politicians and tell you everything about them, which is something I have never heard.”
While Thysell has his preferences when it comes to presidential candidates (Democrats), the Civil War, weather and food, it is his preferences on actresses that mean the most to him.
“I prefer her as a redhead,” Thysell said on Julia Roberts’ various hair colors throughout her career. “After I saw the movie ‘Pretty Woman,’ I fell in love with her. Of course she’s not as young as she used t,o be, but then again none of us are. I used to have red hair. That’s how I got the nickname Rusty.”
After pausing, Thysell laughed and said, “It turned gray once I moved to Nicholls, but it’s still there.”
Thysell looks at Roberts’ picture and says: “I like everything about ‘Pretty Woman,’ but I especially like the Cinderella story and the happy endings. I like that all good things will happen and people will live happily ever after.
