Imagine if the last day of senior year was not your last day attending Mundelein High School. There are over 15 teachers at MHS who experience. It’s a big transition to have MHS change from being your school to now your workplace.
Math teacher Hayley Johnson graduated MHS in 2011. After high school she attended Illinois State University and graduated with a degree in Mathematics Teacher Education. Johnson said, “The north suburbs of Chicago are some of the nicest areas around. I taught for two years in central Illinois, but always wanted to end up here. When I saw a position open up in the math department, I applied and I got it.”
Along with Johnson, Jesse Piland, History teacher, and Barbara Alvarez, English teacher also returned back to teach at MHS. Both Johnson and Alvarez said that they were happy to return to Mundelein since they had such a good experience here during high school.
Alvarez, who was co-editor in chief of the Mustang herself and graduated in 2010, said that she felt connected to the school because she was involved by being in clubs like Student Leadership and NHS. She added, “This is a place where I learned to work hard and feel proud of my accomplishments, so I have very fond memories in that way.”
Piland, a graduate of MHS in 1996 had a similar experience. “Overall, I was very happy with my experience at MHS,” said Piland, “Obviously, since I am now a community member of Mundelein and my daughters will go here, I had a special experience at Mundelein.”
Part of the reason why Piland enjoyed his experience at MHS so much was because “[he] was a kid who moved around a lot. [He] went to around six or seven schools before Mundelein,” Piland said, “It was nice to be in a spot where I felt like I could exist in a place for longer than a couple of years. I joined three sports while I was here and did band. I had a large network of friends and support through the school, so I felt very at home here.”
Michael Vukovics, Adventure Ed teacher and football coach was also involved in several sports during the time he went to high school at MHS. He graduated in 2001. Vukovics played football all four years and did track and basketball for two years, then his senior year, he did wrestling as well. Vukovics initially became a manager of Elly’s Pancake house after attending Harper College. Then, he went back to school and became an aid for the SEDOL program at MHS.
Many of these teachers ended up at MHS unexpectedly, just like Vukovics. For instance, Alvarez initially taught English at Huntley High School. However, she mentioned how Huntleyl is very different from Mundelein. “The community there is very different from the community here, with the demographics. MHS is a lot more diverse. I wanted to come back to a place that has more diversity. I was tired of feeling the stress of the students at Huntley, and I agree with a lot of the missions that MHS has when it comes to equity and teaching children,” said Alvarez.
Several teachers mentioned how the community of Mundelein is part of the reason why they wanted to come back.
“A lot of people that I went to school with ask ‘Why would you want to work there? Why do you still live in Mundelein?’ I think community is very important in our life and it is lost in our society,” Vukovics said. Vukovics is raising his family in Mundelein and his children will go to MHS, similarly to Piland.
Piland added, “I have a lot of faith in the school system and a lot of pride in being part of this community and school.”
The teachers point out that there are several benefits to teaching where they went to school.
“It is really cool to teach alongside people who inspired you to go into the profession. I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside teachers I had in high school as mentors, co-teachers, and on committees. I always enjoyed my teachers and developing a professional relationship with them has been lots of fun,” said Johnson.
Johnson said that sometimes, not everyone understands these benefits. She said, “The question I get asked a lot is if I’m bored working in the place I went to school. Mundelein has changed so much since I went here that it really does not feel like the same place. The community has remained amazing, and I am just happy to be a part of it!”
Vukovics added that he is even more passionate about making the school better since he went there himself. “Some of the decisions being made right now, I want them to be good for my students. For instance with the referendum, it’s frustrating because a lot of people don’t see that better high school means a better community,” Vukovics said.
Piland added that another drawback is that when out in public, he has to remember that he is a public figure, meaning that people know him from MHS.
Even with the minor drawbacks, all of the teachers said that they enjoy teaching where they grew up and went to highschool. It’s a full circle moment for them
