Retired Staff Sgt. Ryan Marti enlisted in the Army National Guard before he even graduated high school, just like his football coach and teacher, future Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Another of Walz’s former students, Lt. Col. Jonathon Jaqua, also joined the Guard after graduating from Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota. Both told CNN that the example Walz set in the classroom and on the football field was influential in their decision to join him as a soldier in the National Guard. “As a teacher, I would say he definitely inspired me,” said Marti, who retired from the Guard...
