Ryan Tiell

Honorable mention male Scholar-Athlete
Ryan Tiell
Mount Vernon
Grade-point avg.: 4.24
$1,000

Sports played: Football (4 years), wrestling (4), baseball (4)

Academic highlights: National Merit Commended Student; National Honor Society member; scored 30 on ACT

Athletic highlights: Third-team all-state and two-time all-district in football; second-team all-league in wrestling; honorable mention all-league in baseball

College choice: University of Findlay (anticipated major: animal science/pre-veterinary medicine)

Photo location: At the farm belonging to some close family friends, the Smalls. Growing up, I didn’t have many opportunities to interact with large animals, and that farm is where I found my love for large animals. It’s where my interest in the veterinary field stemmed from.

Home front: My parents are Bob and Gwen Tiell, and I have twin, 21-year-old siblings: my sister, Shaye, goes to Akron University, and my brother, Jacob, goes to Otterbein.

Favorite subject: I have always enjoyed science courses, specifically biology. My favorite chapter was the one that included the animal dissections.

Least-favorite subject: English, because of its subjective nature. I liked other subjects more because they had a set answer with a set process that would lead to that answer.

Prized possession: The possessions that I value the most are my two dogs. My family has a black Labrador retriever named Kona and a cockapoo named Lucy; it will be very hard to leave them in the fall.

Favorite book: “Ender’s Game,” by Orson Scott Card. I have always enjoyed science fiction, and “Ender’s Game” piqued that interest.

Favorite movie: I have always been a fan of comedies, and I especially enjoyed “The Benchwarmers.”

Favorite television show: “Stranger Things.” The wild plot and great actors make it very interesting.

Favorite musician: I don’t really have a favorite. I enjoy a wide variety of music, but if I had to put one genre above others, it would probably be rock.

Essential app: I would miss Apple Music quite a bit if I could no longer use it. I listen to music a lot throughout the day.

Favorite home-cooked meal: I love when my dad grills cheeseburgers and hot dogs.

My cooking specialty: I’m definitely not much of a cook. I can only really make eggs, grilled cheese and other simple things like that.

Favorite restaurants: Raising Cane’s and Roosters are my two favorites.

Guilty pleasure: On occasion, I enjoy sleeping in past noon.

Proudest sports moment: There have been a lot of great moments, but I’d say my proudest was after my last high school football game. I played the best game of my career that night and helped the team achieve its first winning record in years.

Sports I’d like to try someday: I would love to try hockey or lacrosse. I think I would enjoy the physical aspects of both, and I would also have fun trying to learn the new skills that they require.

Story behind my uniform number: When I was a sophomore, we got new football jerseys, and we were allowed to pick out new numbers. That same year, my older brother was graduating and going to play football at Otterbein. I decided that I would choose No. 19 to continue my brother’s legacy at Mount Vernon.

Favorite athlete: I’m a huge fan of Ohio State football, and I have always enjoyed watching Nick and Joey Bosa. I continue to follow their careers in the NFL.

Inspiration: My dad has always inspired me to be a better person. He shows me every day how to be kind, compassionate, generous and driven. He is the man I aspire to be.

Dream job: My dream job would be a mixed-practice (large and small animal) veterinarian somewhere in Tennessee.

Place I’d like to travel: I would love to travel to different countries around the world to gain perspective. The one location that I most want to visit is Spain.

Something most people don’t know about me: Most people don’t know that I sleepwalk and sleep talk.

Least-favorite household chore: Cleaning dishes. I suppose it’s just due to the gross debris that accumulates in the dishwater.

Something I can’t get right no matter how hard I try: I have never been able to master snowboarding. I have gotten pretty comfortable with skiing, but problems arise when my feet are stuck together.

Words to leave by: I was once told by a friend that we were “Too blessed to be stressed.” That saying always stuck with me in hard times because it reminded me that regardless of how difficult or stressful a situation is, there are still others who would love to be given the opportunities I’ve been given. It reminds me to be thankful and appreciative of the many blessings that this life has handed me. It reminds me not to take things for granted and to help others when I can.

By Ray Stein
rstein@dispatch.com