Wildcat Wins: Mundok makes mark at WMS

Matt Mundok, Whitewater Middle assistant principal and athletic director, leads the Wildcats to find their roar.

Mundok planned to follow the family tradition of joining the Marines, but it all changed when he fell in love with his future wife. He had the choice to get a job, go to college, or move out of his parents’ house. He enrolled at Clayton State, and reset his life’s path.

“Best decision of my life,” he said. 

He had no idea he would be a teacher, but he signed up for an education class. Observing a class at Forest Park High opened his eyes.

“I watched a teacher interact with the students and teach and laugh, and they were just learning and having a good time. I thought, I want to do that.”

He took an internship at Whitewater Middle after college and has been there ever since. The school has become an extended family to him over his 22 years. 

“We have not just worked together, but we have bonded and generated relationships, and I’ve just been really blessed with my friendships here.”

Mundok taught 8th grade science every year before becoming an assistant principal.

“I think I was built for a middle school classroom,” he said. “I like that I could do the activities in the labs and the hands-on part of it. It is fun to have those oohs and those ah moments for kids, and I think it’s also fun for those students. They don’t have to sit and listen to me the entire time. They can actually participate and put their hands to work and do science.”

Even though he didn’t have a deep background playing sports, he found a calling in leading other athletes. He joined the football staff at Whitewater Middle and grew into a successful head coach.

That leadership mentality extends to his teaching and administration philosophy.

“I always thought that a portion of success as an educator is that when kids woke up in the morning they wanted to come to school. And in 8th grade, sometimes that can be difficult,” he said. “I believe that the relationships and how I treat them every single day are gonna be what they remember.”

Mundok takes pride in making positive memories for his students.

“When I bump into these former students of mine 10 years later, 15 years later, they may not remember the atoms in the conversation, they may not remember the difference between an ionic and a covalent bond, but they’re gonna remember how I treated them,” he said. “Hopefully they all remember that I treated them fair and equitable.”

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