Hughes went on to receive his master's degree in Educational Technology from the University of Buffalo in 2006.

Hughes started teaching full-time in 1999 at McKinley High School; his focus was teaching U.S. History and Advanced Placement American Government.

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Hughes collaborated with his students on his first video, titled "Wings of Hope".

The success of this project evolved into bringing in video production and media into his courses.

In the fall of 2014, Hughes started a new phase of his teaching career as a Technology Instructional Coach for the Buffalo Public School district, leaving the teaching role he had for the last 15 years.