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Jacob Reitan established the first-ever gay-straight alliance (GSA) at Mankato West High School during the late 1990s, with Tim Walz serving as the group’s faculty adviser.

On Wednesday, as he takes to the stage at the Democratic National Convention, many of his former students, along with his wife Gwen Walz, will be cheering him on from within the school.

Additionally, alumni from Mankato West have made their way to the United Center in Chicago to show their support for the Walzes.

“The Walzes are picture-perfect representatives of good, decent people,” Reitan, who graduated in 2000, expressed to The Independent at the convention.

Reitan, now an attorney and activist for LGBT+ rights in Minnesota, shared how crucial it was for him, as a gay student, to have a respected football coach like Walz offering support and safety. “It meant the world to me,” he said.

Laura Matson, a straight ally and co-founder of the GSA, has known both Tim and Gwen Walz since she was a freshman in 1998.

She recalled a time when parents protested a day dedicated to recognizing LGBT+ rights, which was part of a broader human rights week. Walz and the school’s principal remained unwavering in their support for the students during that challenge. “They stood firm against that pressure,” Matson recounted to The Independent.

“Their decision helped to create a more thoughtful, diverse community, allowing many students to be honest about who they were and come out at that time,” she said.

Known affectionately as “Mr. Walz,” the Minnesota governor taught global geography while coaching football, track, and basketball. He was also involved in decorating for prom and constructed sets for the school’s production of The Nerd, using designs from his student Amanda Hinkle.

Inside the United Center, Hinkle shared her hopes that every American has teachers like the Walzes, ones who “go the extra mile to care for others and create a sense of community.”

“It feels surreal” to see them in such a prominent position, she noted.

“I keep saying, ‘I can’t believe it,’ but at the same time, I can,” said Hinkle, who is currently a theater educator in New York. “They are truly the best people for this role.”

The governor is expected to accept the party’s nomination from Ben Ingman, a former student and neighbor whom Walz coached in both basketball and track.

Former players from Mankato West’s football team, as well as their head coach Rick Sutton, will join him on stage.

A video introduction highlighting several Mankato West alumni, including Reitan, will also be shown at the convention.

“I remember them taking me under their wing, helping me fit in,” Hinkle reflected, noting their mutual Nebraska backgrounds, as both sets of parents hailed from the same state.

Ida Moen Johnson, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Madison, also had the privilege of being taught by both Walzes. She praised them for setting a “really high bar” and clearly demonstrating their support for all students.

“I am thrilled to have a teacher on the ticket,” she said in Chicago, expressing excitement about an educator potentially leading the country.

Richelle Norton, a 2001 graduate of Mankato West who lived nearby, helped form Mankato West Alumni for Harris-Walz to campaign for their former mentors.

“We had the Walzes when they didn’t even have children yet,” she recalled. “They were like the school’s mom and dad, showing outstanding care and being powerful mentors.”

Norton, who currently works as an art teacher in Minneapolis, had several classes with both Walzes during her junior year, followed by after-school ACT preparation sessions led by Gwen Walz.

The couple often joked that their classes felt like “homeschooling.”

“They encouraged us to think beyond our small community in Mankato and recognize the wonders of the larger world,” she added.

“The world continues to learn about the Walzes,” she said, emphasizing the need to share their remarkable story. “They embody hard work, upstanding values, and the relentless spirit of the Midwest.”