When you walk into history teacher Mike Ortmann’s room the first thing that comes to mind is “Wow… this guy has a lot of stuff.” from Russian Mcdonald’s signs, to posters depicting the pinnacle of Elizabethan fashion, his room is packed.

As large as his collection of magazines and memorabilia from almost every time period is, his mental catalog of random facts from throughout history is nothing short of baffling. Needless to say Mr. Ortmann is a needle in a haystack, or more appropriately a fabulous find in the world’s novelty shop.

Ortmann, being foremost a historical scholar, had a very fruitful college career.

“ I had some phenomenal history professors,” Ortmann said. “One of my favorite professors is still teaching there.”

He was even lucky enough to receive two study abroad scholarships one of which was a Fulbright-Hayes, both giving him valuable insight into foreign political workings in locales such as Soviet Russia and China. His experience with Russia in particular is evident from numerous memorabilia pieces, such as his Soviet era propaganda poster and his Lenin bust, which is made out of a lead-like substance.

In more recent times Ortmann has been heavily involved in the teaching of his AP classes, with fun discussions, seminars that are actually hard to sleep through, and the occasional wisecrack, his class is funny and informative. His belief in his students is a rock solid support that all benefit from.

“I could see great potential in sharing with young people,” Ortmann said. “I want to challenge them, and hopefully they’ll gain my love of history.”

His innovative demeanor has lead to unconventional teaching that is a wonderful change of pace from the other classes one takes during the day, for instance teaching in costume.

“[I’ve] come in as and advisor to Henry the eighth of England,” Ortmann said “ I’ve also come in as an Anti-Federalist talking about the Constitutional Convention and the ratification.”