Dec. 15, 2025
Contact: Janese Heavin, heavinj@missouri.edu
Photos courtesy Taylor Holmes and Grant Byrne
Grant Byrne has always loved learning. School? Not so much.
That changed when he arrived at the University of Missouri. Now, as he graduates with a bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in secondary social studies, he’s ready to spend his career in the classroom helping students discover their own love of learning.
The early years
Byrne’s interest in history developed naturally. He grew up visiting battlefields and historic sites across Missouri. He spent his early childhood in St. Joseph — the state’s second-largest city prior to the Civil War, he likes to point out — and enjoyed listening to family members recount personal connections to the state and country.
“My great-grandfather was born in Wyoming in 1935 and lived in Yellowstone National Park while his father was building the roads,” Byrne said. “I love hearing his stories, how he later worked for the Missouri Highway Department before it became MoDOT.”
When his family moved to Columbia at age 7, Byrne continued to study local history on his own. He also turned to the History Channel and YouTube for information about America’s past, with a special interest in the evolution of labor unions.
“I love seeing how everyday life slowly builds into legends,” he said. “History doesn’t entirely repeat itself, but it often rhymes. You can watch how trends and conditions lead to certain events. The best way to analyze the present is by analyzing the past, and you have to have context to do that.”
At school, Byrne enjoyed social studies, but attention deficit hyperactivity disorder made it difficult for him to excel in subjects that didn’t hold his interest.
Then came the class that changed everything. At Hickman High School, Byrne took a theatre tech course to fulfill a fine arts requirement. As part of the class, he helped construct, paint and assemble sets. He enjoyed the work so much that he later volunteered to serve as a student tech director to organize and manage tech crews for high school plays. Byrne quickly became a leader in the class, teaching and inspiring other students.
The experience planted a seed that would take root at Mizzou.
Finding his path at Mizzou
After graduating from high school and still unsure of his future, Byrne came to campus hoping to find direction. At first, he considered anthropology but quickly realized it wasn’t a fit for his personality.
During a period of uncertainty, Byrne leaned on the support of his now-wife, Mia Byrne, BS ’25, who encouraged him to explore what genuinely excited him.
After some soul searching, Byrne remembered how much he liked his high school theatre tech class and imagined teaching a similar course. Once he joined the College of Education and Human Development, though, he realized what he really liked was the art of teaching itself.
“I thought I might as well teach the thing I love, so I switched to social studies education,” he said.
His first field placement confirmed his decision. Assigned to a government class at Hickman High School — a course he had taken years earlier — Byrne suddenly saw how the lessons from his educational psychology courses at Mizzou were being put into practice.
“It was like pulling the curtain back on the educational process,” he said. “I could see why the instructors were presenting the information in certain ways.”
Byrne credits his Mizzou education classes for preparing him to teach. A class on reading and writing in content areas showed him how to apply and promote literacy skills. His social studies methods course taught him how to help students make meaningful connections between history and government.
But the standout? A History of Missouri course with Professor Jeffrey Pasley in the College of Arts and Science.
“As someone who loves Missouri and the history of Missouri, it was incredible to have access to the breadth of Missouri history from native inhabitants to later inhabitants to recent politics,” Byrne said.
Becoming a teacher
This semester, Byrne has been student teaching junior-level social studies at East High School in Columbus, Ohio. And he’s thriving.
“The kids are funny — kids everywhere are funny, especially when they’re just being kids,” he said. “And everyone is smart, even if they haven’t been told that they’re smart. Watching them work through the content and understanding it — and being told they understand it — has been great.”
Byrne’s own struggles in school have helped him better relate to students and their needs. As a result of his experiences, he instinctively explains material in multiple ways and uses concrete examples to make complex concepts accessible. Students have commented that those extra steps help them better understand the lesson.
What really helps him connect to high schoolers, though, is his authenticity.
“I make them care by caring about it myself and being my genuine self 100% of the time,” he said. “Kids will always test you, but I give them space to be themselves so we can all engage with the content together.”
Looking ahead
After graduation, Byrne plans to obtain his Missouri teacher certification and apply for a transfer license to teach in Ohio, where his wife works in textile and apparel management. He will spend the coming semester substitute teaching at schools around the area to find the right long-term fit.
“Ideally, I’ll end up at the Columbus equivalent of Hickman High School — somewhere that needs a Mr. Byrne,” he said.
And further down the road?
“If I ever get tired of teaching high school, I’d love to be a professor,” he said. “Maybe dive deeper into history, teach a Missouri history course of my own or, probably more likely, be a professor in a college of education where I can help new students become teachers.”
