“I originally wanted to become a crime scene investigator or conservation police before teaching,” Mr. Matthew Minich, biology, said.

Minich grew up in Tinley Park and later attended Eastern Illinois University.

He enjoys working with students and continuously experiencing new adventures throughout each of his classes.

“As I see the students progress and mature from year to year, it is an awesome feeling to be a part of their education as they have taught me over the years,” Minich said.

After originally wanting to be involved in forensics, he wasn’t successful in finding any jobs in that field.

Minich was interested in the different techniques that were used to solve crimes.

His uncle was a cop in Chicago who worked in the crime evidence division, and Minich grew more and more interested in the idea of it.

“It is like being a detective. Your observation skills had to be keen to your surroundings,” Minich said.

Since he still enjoys the aspect of forensics, Minich would still have loved to teach it to students.

His love for the outdoors inspired him to become a biology teacher. As he was growing up, he traveled to various places that were not located in the Midwest: Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains, and the Grand Canyon.

One of Minich’s most memorable teachers was Mr. O’Donnell, his chemistry teacher.

“He would do demonstrations and labs, borderline burning down the school. I can even remember that he electrocuted himself during class,” Minich said.

After being interested in chemistry, ecology was something that Mr. Minich was more interested in teaching.