Aces of Trades: Ryan Gasser helps high school students and adults plan their future

CARROLL − Ryan Gasser's office may be in Groveport, but he spends a lot of time in Fairfield County.

Gasser is the coordinator of marketing and communications for Eastland/Fairfield Career and Technical Schools. The school district comprises Fairfield, Franklin and Pickaway counties and Gasser has been with the district since April 2020.

"I manage all marketing and communication efforts," he said. "Anything from website management to social media management to advertising. It's a lot. But it's making sure that we're all connected."

Gasser, a Youngstown area native, is usually in Fairfield County once a week, but has sometimes been here three and four times a week. Nine local high schools work with the career center.

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Gasser will probably be spending even more time in at the Fairfield Career Center in Carroll in the near future as students there are building a house for Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio.

"I'm just a guy trying to make both high school students and adults make a connection to where they want their futures to go any way that I can," Gasser said.

Before coming to the career center, Gasser was the assistant athletic director for communications for Capital University in Bexley and has also worked in other college athletic departments.

"I always grew up in the life of athletics," he said. "Even as a college student I was working in athletic departments doing radio broadcasting and then migrating over into the communications and media relations area. I thought that it was going to be a life of athletics for me, but it turned out that wasn't going to be the case. Some life changes happen and some priorities get rearranged."

Gasser said when he took his current job he was ready to move away from athletics and more into classrooms and labs. He said working in athletics is demanding and challenging and that he would sometimes work 60 to 90 hours a week in that field.

"Now I'm much closer to a 40- to 50-hour week, which is a lot healthier for me and for what I'm trying to accomplish outside," Gasser said.

But he's not totally out of the sports world. Gasser does some statistics work for some Ohio State teams on a freelance basis.

"So I scratch the itch every once in a while," he said. "But it's a schedule that I can make and maintain how I want. So that's really some extra spending cash for the holidays or something like that."

Away from work, Gasser enjoys sports and said he's "grossly addicted" to sports trading cards and trading card shows. He also enjoys paddle boarding in warm weather.

Gasser is also the father of an 11-year-old son.

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Ryan Gasser helps high school students and adults plan their future