Mr. Ryan Hetzer was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Whitfield School in 1995, and during his senior internship he was placed in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom. In the summer after his graduation, he worked as a camp counselor for 2nd graders and it was clear his career path was within the educational profession. He went on to Stetson University in DeLand, Florida where he earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1999. His alma mater, Whitfield School, hired him to teach Social Studies to grades 7 and 8. He spent eight years at Whitfield School as a teacher while also coaching the Varsity baseball team as the head coach, the Varsity basketball team as an assistant coach, and the varsity soccer team as the goalkeeping coach. During these years Ryan also was the President of an American Legion baseball program that played during the summer months. Ryan was open to new opportunities in education and certainly found a unique and amazing opportunity at The American School of Marrakesh in Morocco. During his first year at the school, Ryan was asked to join the school's administrative team where he then served ten years as an Upper School Principal. At the American School of Marrakesh, Ryan was also the head basketball coach for the varsity team, served as the school's AP Coordinator, was a Team Leader on the school's Accreditation Committee, helped to implement the ongoing transition to the International Baccalaureate (IB diploma), and served as a college counselor for the high school grades. His hobbies include reading novels, watching documentary films, and following his favorite professional sports team, the St. Louis Cardinals.  Ryan has been considering a return to the United States for a few years, but only for a situation he was extremely excited about in a community that he felt at home. Ryan believes he has found that at Austin Peace Academy. Ryan will be relocating to Austin with his wife, Sara, his son Ryan Jr. ("RJ", 7 years old), and his twin daughters Maya Lee and Julia Aisha (3 years old.)