Karnstedts

Since the Karnstedts work on different sides of the building, they don’t get to see each other often at work.

“It is always a nice pleasant surprise to see my brother across the hall while we’re both [working],” science teacher Mr. Paul Karnstedt said. “It’s nothing short of a blessing to be able to actually have that opportunity to see my brother every day. I know that might sound different to a high schooler who likely sees their siblings every day, but we don’t live with each other anymore so it’s great to be able to see your family.”

Growing up, they weren’t as close, but as they’ve gotten older, they’ve grown closer and enjoy each other’s company more. When they have had the same off periods as each other, they enjoy taking a break from their work day to enjoy a lunch out together.

One of their fond memories from childhood was staying at their family’s cabin which they’ve had since Mr. Paul Karnstedt was in 10th grade and Mr. Matthew Karnstedt was in seventh grade.

“It was like a very big deal for our family because we kind of made that place our own,” Mr. Paul Karnstedt said. “It’s changed a lot over the years. And I think back to our childhood and how much it’s changed.” They’ve also enjoyed visiting the Grand Canyon and having road trips to North Carolina to visit their grandparents.

While they didn’t go to the same college for their undergraduate degree, they both went to University of Illinois for their master’s degree. For their undergraduate degree, band teacher Mr. Matthew Karnstedt went to Butler University, while Mr. Paul Karnstedt went to University of Illinois.

Both of them graduated from LHS and experienced LHS from the perspective of a student. Right after graduating from college, Mr. Matthew Karnstedt started working here and now sees LHS from a teacher’s perspective.

“There’s a lot of teachers that I had that are still around,” he said. “And so it took a while for it to feel like a place that [where] I was kind of in my own element as a job. I have some fond memories from high school. And so there’s definitely some of that nostalgia that comes back for me like marching in the Homecoming Parade and now I get to do that as one of the band teachers.”

Before working at LHS, Mr. Paul Karnstedt worked at Township High School for nine years. Then, he had the opportunity to work at LHS with his brother.

“It’s not often you have an opportunity to work with your family,” he said. “And so I had to take a jump at that. It was a no brainer for me. Family is just so important and we are very lucky that we get to be near each other on a daily basis. It’s awesome. Not everyone has that opportunity.”

Mr. Matthew Karnstedt is thankful for the opportunity to not only work at his old high school, but to work with his brother.

“I try not to take it for granted because it is a thing that I’m sure that less than 1% of teachers get to have something like this,” he said. “It’s pretty fun. It makes our jobs more enjoyable at times [and] it makes it easier, especially in hard times where this job is tough. I’m not going to lie. There are some hard things about teaching. I really enjoy it. But in those hard times it’s also kind of comforting to have someone that’s there pretty much no matter what.”

Gorells

When Mr. Gorell started working here 13 years ago, staff members already knew about Ms. Gorell, so when Ms. Gorell started working for their district, she immediately felt welcomed. Mr. Gorell is a school aide for LHS while Ms. Gorell is a hearing itinerant at both LHS and VHHS.

Even though the Gorells work in the same building, they don’t run into each other much.

“There’s plenty of times on Friday mornings [where] I don’t even know if she’s in the building or not in the building if she’s had meetings,” Mr. Gorell said.

Mr. Gorell is seven years older than Ms. Gorell, so growing up they weren’t as close.

Mr. Gorell went to Illinois State and Ms. Gorell went to McMurry College.

Ms. Gorell appreciated that McMurry had a program for deaf and hard of hearing education. “I considered Illinois State but overall McMurray just had a better educational system for how I learned and I got to play soccer,” Ms. Gorell said.