JD Walters graduated in 2008. He majored in economics and earned a license to teach social studies grades 7-12.
Walters’ high school basketball coach was a Muskingum Athletic Hall of Fame Member, and he brought his team to Muskingum for summer shoot-outs. That early exposure combined with Muskingum’s well-recognized Education Program and the positive recruiting experience with both the Admission Office and Athletics made it clear that this was the place for him.
Since graduating, Walters has worked at Sheridan High School, where he teaches American history, economics and War and Tolerance, a class that focuses on the Holocaust and other genocides throughout history. He has coached cross country for all ten of his years at Sheridan, and his team has won ten straight Muskingum Valley League (MVL) titles and made it to the state championship five consecutive seasons. In the fall of 2017, the team was runner-up at the state championship. He has coached his team to several titles and a number of his runners have signed with Division 1 schools.
In addition to coaching cross country, Walters has also spent ten years as one of Sheridan’s track coaches. He has also coached Sheridan’s girls’ basketball team for three seasons; last season, the team won a share of the MVL title. This year (2018), they finished their regular season 19-3, qualifying them for tournament play and bringing Walters’ three-year coaching record to 59-13.
Walters was actually recruited to play basketball at Muskingum, but he switched to running cross country and track during his sophomore year. He says, “The people I met through Muskingum's track and cross country teams are still my best friends today. My best man, groomsmen and wife were all Muskingum graduates.” He adds that he was given many leadership opportunities at Muskingum, from being a Resident Assistant (RA) to serving as president of campus organizations.
While teaching and coaching full-time, Walters also earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership.