Through the years, teachers come and go; this year, preK-12 choir teacher Matt Gunter will be leaving Yutan to teach kindergarten to 4th grade students at Norfolk, which is something he has wanted to specialize in for a while.
“So here at Yutan, I wear a lot of hats, which is great, but sometimes it can be a lot to where I don’t get a chance to specialize in what I want to specialize and I have to worry about all grades. In this case, I only worry about K-4, which I then specialize in at Norfolk.” Gunter said.
Gunter was also drawn to Norfolk to be closer to family.
“So my parents live in Norfolk. I have my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew. Norfolk has been a place where I was born, I was raised, I graduated from high school there, so my roots are all there,” Gunter said.
Gunter has been teaching at Yutan for 11 years, and during that time, he has had a variety of experiences in and out of the classroom.
“I’ve gained a lot of experience teaching all grades. I have gained experience going to different events, such as choir competitions or honor choirs. I’ve gained a lot of experience in the theater department, theater world, doing one acts and musicals and plays,” Gunter said.
Gunter does more than just teach choir, however; he is also the one-act and musical/all-school play director. He has done the four one-acts, five musicals and has put on six plays.
“This is my sixth all-school play, I believe the fourth year of one act and we continue with superior ratings. [We got] third place at conference last year, which is fantastic,” Gunter said.
These extracurriculars will not be part of Gunter’s new job, which he will miss.
“I would say my favorite part of coaching is when we have a product and I get to do the little things and make them better,” Gunter said. “I also love the beginning part too because when you’re doing a play, or when you’re singing and stuff like that, to see [the students] gaining the experience they had from the beginning to the end, and to grow from one from point A to point B, and just seeing the final product, that is the great thing to see when you’re coaching.”
Gunter’s students will also miss having him in class and activities.
“It makes me really sad because I’ve had him since I was in preschool and coming into the high school,” freshman Erika Sons said. “Having him as a familiar face that I still had was comforting, and finishing my high school without that familiar, comforting face, I think it’s going to be hard for me and I’m happy for him and I’m happy that he’s doing the best for him and (his wife) Shawna.”
Gunter has made a real impact on his students and created memories that his students will remember forever.
“I just think that Gunter is a really good person. He works really hard for everything he does,” junior Bella Sliva said. “Gunter has done a lot for the school. He is just very inspiring.”
As Gunter enters the last weeks of the school year, he is planning on finishing the year as normal. However, he will miss the students and staff very much.
“I will miss a lot of our community of Yutan, who are very special,” Gunter said. “I will miss the students immensely that have gone here and are still going here. I will miss them dearly. The staff who have been amazing, who’ve taught me everything that I know.”
