LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Ryan Titkemeier was nominated by an anonymous parent of a student.

It's not every day that a high school intervention specialist actively attempts to change the course of life for a student.  Mr. Titkemeier does just that every time he enters the doors of St. Francis de Sales School. Mr. T., as the students affectionately call him, sees the best in everyone who enters his intervention room. He genuinely directs their lives in a manner that will allow them to succeed for a lifetime and be everything they can be. Mr. T. blends encouragement, tough love, and sage advice with a genuine positive attitude.  

"My son was lucky enough to encounter Mr. T. as an incoming seventh grader," the nominator said. "He had always struggled with his disabilities, and for multiple years, he had heard all the ways he wasn't measuring up, so he was riddled with anxiety and low self-esteem.  Mr. T. made it his mission to bring common sense modifications to the way my son learned. Along the way, Mr. T. provided kind words and modeling which gently started replacing the words my son had heard for years. Instead of focusing on what he was doing wrong, my son was able to identify all the ways he was positively impacting his school. He started to focus on what he was in control of, and he even voiced a desire to take a more active role in his school community. Today, as a junior, my son enjoys being an active member of the track and football teams. He has successfully completed an honors leadership course and is focused on possibly becoming an Intervention Specialist himself.  All of this is because of Mr. T. Mr. T. is a soccer coach at the school, but we'll always be thankful for his academic coaching and ability to personally impact his students."