Ryan Short ’03 is an assistant football coach at Perry Meridian High School and works as a special education teacher at Perry Meridian Middle School. The Wabash College Athletics Hall of Famer knows some challenges take extra effort. He tackles them head-on even if he falls short a time or two—like he did while finding his path toward a career in education.
Never turn down a challenge. It’s a lesson Short ’03 learned 15 years ago.As a student at Wabash he studied rhetoric and was a superstar student-athlete. The two-time basketball captain and two-time All-American tight end set records with 243 receptions and 45 touchdowns. In 2008, he was inducted into the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame.
“Here’s this 6'5", super athletic tight end who was also starting on the basketball team. You worry sometimes when guys are that talented that they’ll act like it’s all about them and have big egos, but Ryan was the farthest thing from that,” says former Wabash Football Coach Chris Creighton. “He was all about the team, and making sure that all the guys were pushing themselves to be better together.”
Short stood out in the classroom as well.
“He was eager to be in the middle of the conversation,” says Dean of the College Todd McDorman, who had Short in four of his rhetoric classes. “If I had assigned a reading or topic and needed someone to speak up in class, I always knew he would be the one to do it.”
McDorman remembers Short taking his upper-level reasoning and advocacy class as a first-semester freshman.
“It was a real challenge for him, but he really wanted to be in a rhetoric class,” McDorman says. “He had to work hard to succeed, but he pulled it off.”
After graduation, Short explored different career options. He worked as a football coach, as a legal assistant, a third-shift supervisor at an auto manufacturing plant, sold vacuums—the list goes on.
“Those three years were not enjoyable. I was chasing financial gains instead of happiness,” says Short, whose father was an educator. “My true destiny was always to be a teacher.”
So, he applied to Wabash’s teacher education program. But he didn’t make the cut. His 2.98 college GPA was not high enough to get accepted into the program. Short felt let down.
“It hurt that I didn’t get accepted into my alma mater’s program,” Short says, “the place that I poured out a lot of academic and athletic effort.”
Short could have thrown in the towel and called it quits, but he’s never been one to turn down a challenge.
“It motivated me to pursue education even more,” says Short, who earned his master’s degree in teaching from Indiana Wesleyan University. “Getting denied was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me.”
Short describes his job, primarily teaching math remediation to seventh and eighth graders, as an “ultimate case study in problem solving and critical thinking” because every single one of his students has their own individualized education plan (IEP), challenges, and strengths.
The way he breaks down one math problem to a student might look drastically different than the way he explains it to another.
“It’s always a fun adventure,” Short says, adding that the shift to remote learning due to COVID-19 added an extra layer of challenge this year.
“Some students just don’t adapt well to virtual learning because we’re essentially asking middle school students with disabilities to be independent learners,” Short says. “That can be quite an intriguing challenge.”
“He’s always reaching out to students and offering extra help,” says Jon Romine, Perry Meridian Middle School Principal. “He won’t let things go by the wayside, whether it’s virtual or in-person. He really does a nice job of taking something complex and breaking it down into simple steps students can follow.”
Romine says Short’s teaching style is admirable, too.
“He is really focused on growth,” the principal says. “He doesn’t get rattled easily, and really emphasizes the importance of pushing forward and never giving up, even if it takes time. Then he recognizes and celebrates those students’ successes, which builds up their confidence.”
Short likes to stay honest and doesn’t feel ashamed of the path it took to get to where he is today. He openly shares his story in hopes others will realize it’s okay to not succeed the first time. What really matters is the effort you put in.
“More than anything, I think completing a Wabash degree gives you the confidence and ability to do so many different things, which is exactly what I did,” Short says. “Being able to play two sports and maintain a high GPA at a hard school showed me that I can do anything. I’ll accept any challenge thrown at me because I believe in myself.
“Teaching special-needs students can seem like a scary job,” Short says. The reward for him comes from seeing his students improve. “As a Little Giant, there’s nothing better than overcoming the biggest challenge.
”One of Wabash’s mottos is, “It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it,” McDorman says, and Short’s story exemplifies just that.
“Looking at the setback underscored to Ryan that it might not be easy to get to where he most wanted to be, but it would be worth it,” he says. “Just like he did in the classroom here, and just like we hope for and expect out of all of our students, he persevered and found a way to become a teacher.
“There are many different paths to succeeding,” McDorman says, “and Ryan’s shown that success isn’t a one-size-fits-all.”