Ryan Osborn is one of the newest additions to the Gibson Southern staff. Osborn teaches computer science classes and runs the Esports Club. Before joining Gibson Southern, Osborn taught at Eastern Pekin High School for three years, Harrison High School for six years and five years at Bosse High School. So far, Osborn loves Gibson Southern.

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Southerner: Where did you go to high school?

Osborn: “I actually went to Northeastern High school, which is up near Richmond, Indiana. It’s about four hours away from here, northeast.”

Southerner: Where did you go to college?

Osborn: “I went to Ball State University, which is in Muncie, Indiana. So, if you go up to Indianapolis, it’s about 40 minutes away from there.”

Southerner: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Osborn: “Oh gosh, when I was growing up I really wanted to be a basketball player, but that was not in the cards. Then it transferred over to being a Navy Seal and again it was not in the cards. I decided to go into teaching. I really enjoyed working with individuals, and then when I got older, I liked working with kids because I had those teachers who really helped me out. I wanted to be one of those guys.”

Southerner: Are you married?

Osborn: “I am married. I highly, highly suggest it at some point in your life.”

Southerner: What are some pets you’ve had or have?

Osborn: “Some of the more exotic pets I’ve had are a pet cockatiel, and I’ll never own a bird again because they are so gross. I’ve owned African Cichlids, which are a type of fish and they are very, very finicky as far as keeping PH level and all that from where they come from. We are a dog family, so I currently have a miniature golden doodle who runs the house.”

Southerner: Besides the exotic animals you named, are there any other exotic pets you want to own?

Osborn: “I’d love to have a pet tiger, just because of the movie ‘The Hangover,’ and seeing that pet tiger with Mike Tyson. That looks fun.

Southerner: What is your favorite food?

Osborn: “My favorite food is probably smoked chicken wings.”

Southerner: What are some of your hobbies?

Osborn: “I like to golf, that’s my number one hobby. Another hobby I really enjoy is gaming. I love any kind of gaming. Mainly I have a racing simulator that I built downstairs. I like [virtually] racing cars and stuff. I have the whole setup of a forced feedback area with a cockpit seat and everything. My wife calls me a nerd.”

Southerner: What is your favorite sport?

Osborn: “My favorite sport is motor racing of all kinds. I really enjoy the dirt tracks and stuff like that, as far as wing sprints, sprints, super late models, all that kind of stuff. I love F1, I love the technology behind it.”

Southerner: What is your favorite part of Gibson Southern?

Osborn: “There’s honestly too many, and I’m not sure. Number one would be the kids, the amount of respect that the kids have so far, the amount of willingness to learn and the ability to do the work and want to do the work is amazing to me. The second thing is how everybody is so inviting. I’m not from Fort Branch or this neck of the woods, but everybody seems so nice and very inviting. Another thing is, I loved going to the football game … when we [Mr. and Mrs. Osborn] went to the football game, the first thing my wife said was, ‘This just feels like a family atmosphere.’ That was something I was missing, and I needed that. This whole place is top-notch.

Southerner: Did you teach at any schools before Gibson Southern?

Osborn: “I taught three years over near Louisville in a small school called Eastern Pekin [High School] … then I taught six years at Harrison High School and five years at Bosse High School. I’ve seen some stuff.”

Southerner: What is the biggest difference between your old schools and Gibson Southern?

Osborn: “I would say just the support of not only the teachers but also the community. The community rallying around this school is something that I’ve only seen through the high school I went to. It really makes for a great environment.”

Southerner: What is your favorite class to teach here?

Osborn: “Currently, it is any of the computer science classes. All of them are really, really fun. I’m really enjoying the intro to computer science because getting the kids excited about the computer science aspect of what we do and how we can use computer science. Everybody thinks, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s just a bunch of coding,’ but think about what coding is though … all that stuff (video games, apps, etc.) is written by code itself. So, once you understand and look at this stuff, you just see how much of the world is run by code. It’s really eye opening and interesting. … It’s (computer science) is one of those fields where you can get a job because technology is not going anywhere.”

Southerner: What was your favorite high school or college achievement?

Osborn: “[My] High school achievement was playing four years of varsity baseball and on our senior year, on graduation day, we had Sectional finals against a team we had lost to three times in a row that season. We met them in the Sectional finals, and with bases loaded, I was up to bat and drove in two runs to win the game and send us to our first Regional. I was pretty pumped about that, and it was pretty cool. For college, I would say the best achievement was meeting my wife, and I’ll leave it at that in case she reads this.”

Southerner: If a zombie apocalypse was to break out at school right now, what would you do?

Osborn: “Ooh, I like this. I got to bring in a softball bat and probably put some nails in it like Lucile and channel my inner Rick Grimes and shut my doors, that’s for darn sure. I don’t think I’m prepared.”

Southerner: Any final statements?

Osborn: “I’ve never been to a high school where everyone I speak to in the hallways, whether you know me or not, says hello back. And, I’m not kidding, that to me blows my mind because that just shows the character and make up of the student body here. I’m absolutely in awe about how mature everybody is, how everyone gets along. I’ve been to several schools where we have fights every week, if not every day. I just can’t get over how everyone gets along. I mean I’m absolutely in awe about it. You guys need to be proud of yourselves, you really do.”