R. John Muench:
CLASS OF 1982
Normal Community High SchoolClass of 1982
Normal, IL
University of IllinoisClass of 1988
Urbana, IL
Illinois State UniversityClass of 1986
Normal, IL
R. John's Story
Life
Well, I'm still single at this point. I was engaged once a long time ago, but... Well that is too long of a story to go into.
I currently teach Chemistry at Heartland Community College in Normal. I have been doing that since 1993 (taught some at Illinois Central College before that). I'm sure many of my old classmates would be surprised that ole shy me actually enjoys being in front of a crowd of students or peers!!! I think that I do a pretty good job of teaching and I was awarded our Faculty of the Year back in 2001. The best part about my job is that the hours are flexible - I can pick my schedule - and I only have to be on campus about 30 hours per week.
From 1990 - 1996, I was only a part-time instructor and made pretty paltry money. I think the first semester at ICC I was paid $300 per credit hour and I had maybe 7 or 8 credit hours, so you do the math and figure out how much I made. To make ends meet, I did a lot of other jobs on the side. That includes bartending at places like the old Jumer's and several other places. If you ever need to know how to make a good strawberry dacquiri or an old fashioned, then I'm your man.
I currently live i...Expand for more
n north Normal in a nice house with a pet cat, Gracie, and a large 1200 gallon fish pond in my backyard. My commute to work is only five minutes, so I can always run home if I need something.
I should mention that I also did live in Dallas for about a year. People complain about hot weather here, but you have know idea about how bad it is there.
My college experience was pretty wild. I did graduate in four years from ISU with a BS in Chemistry and Economics. My second year, though, I joined a frat and even became President of the house for one year. After graduating, I immediately began grad school at the U of I. All of the grad students in chemistry are like our own frat. We played baseball every weekend when it was warm enough. Snuck away from our research to grab a few beers and hung out more than we would admit to our bosses.
I still keep in touch with many of my close friends from NCHS - especially the ones who live nearby. I also have an annual golf trip with some buddies.
Some oddities - Richard Dean Anderson (MacGuyver) and Lara Flynn Boyle have been in my parent's house. Last year I was hit in the head with a golf ball. I'm STILL a Cub fan.
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