Everything that lies outside the walls of Liberty is conquered by one man with drive, a love for what he does, and a late bedtime during football season; that man’s name: Donovan Osborn.
Osborn is Liberty’s Stadium Caretaker, but beyond that title, his job can be tricky to define due to the vastness of his responsibilities.
“What I do in a day depends on the sports season. My job mainly focuses on athletics and what sports are happening,” Osborn said.
Because of his ever-changing duties, Osborn is in charge of many tasks you may have noticed the results of, but haven’t attributed to a person.
He empties garbage cans, cleans bathrooms, mows the fields and paints lines on them, cares for 58 flower beds, pressure washes, fills cracks, puts up new tennis nets, and so much more.
With all these responsibilities to get done, Osborn is here all the time.
“I’m supposed to be here five days a week, but a lot of times I’m here seven,” Osborn said.
He’s most busy during the football season, coming in at eleven or noon and not leaving until two or three in the morning, but he enjoys it nevertheless.
“I would have to say my favorite part is probably getting ready for Friday night football games in the fall,” Osborn said. “I like the atmosphere.”
This year, with a new outdoor sport, girls’ flag football, Osborn has new tasks to take on. He paints new pink lines for them on the field every week, something unique to Liberty.
“There’s no other stadium in our league that is painting their football field every week for them,” Osborn said.
Osborn thrives with tasks like that, ones that may go unnoticed but make a big impact.
“I love doing the little things, the little extra things that no one else is doing to try to help make Liberty a little bit better,” Osborn said.
His love for what he does started when he first started taking care of softball and baseball fields with his dad when he was only five years old.
“My dad had essentially the same position I have here when I was a kid growing up,” Osborn said. “I loved going and helping them prep the fields and get ready for a varsity baseball game after school.”
He’s now following in his dad’s footsteps, inspired by his work as a kid, but he wasn’t always going down this career path.
“I taught special education for five years in a self contained classroom, realized that I had to get outside to work, and at the same time, my brother was starting a landscape company, so I helped and we co-owned it. Then I decided I wanted to try to get back into the school district somehow. I got hired here, and I’ve been here since 2017,” Osborn said.
After eight years here at Liberty, Osborn is certain that he made the right decision.
“I have a master’s in teaching, and I get paid to cut grass, and I’m perfectly happy doing it,” Osborn said.
Osborn has found his passion and works everyday to help students at Liberty have the best experience they can with everything they do outside, so if you ever see him driving the lawn mower or trimming some flowers, make sure to say hi.
“This isn’t work,” Osborn said. “It’s just fun. I come to work with a smile on my face every day, and I go home with a smile to play with my four-year-old twins.”
