As you’ve roamed the halls or streets of Peddie, you might have passed by this young lady and wondered, “Who is this? Perhaps a student in disguise?” Read more to find out how Ms. Munch, the head of the humanities team and Writing Center and an assistant coach for the Girls Cross Country Varsity team and Varsity Softball team keeps up such happy spirits each and every day for students and faculty alike to maintain this youthful look.
After a relatively easy day of watching movies in class with the students revising their essays and eating delicious pastries from the faculty fall party, Munch shared some insight on how she’s doing on a day-to-day basis.
What’s Munch’s favorite day, you might ask? Munch answered, “I think it depends on the season, so for fall term, I think it’d be Wednesdays, and that’s because of cross country, our long runs. It’s fun to get away off campus. Sometimes we’ll bring snacks or go and get ice cream afterwards … and, you know, classes end earlier. It’s fun, always.”
Continuing the trip down memory lane, aside from big events like Freshmen or Blue and Gold Games, one of Munch’s most memorable moments was her first Blair Day at Peddie. As a coach for the cross country team, she remembered a female senior runner at the time fainting into her arms just after finishing the race. After regaining consciousness a few seconds later, she asked Munch, “Did I finish?”Munch answered her with a smile, “Yes, Middy, let’s get you some water.” Munch absolutely loves being part of the school spirit that Peddie offers, as well as witnessing the amazing finishes and records the runners really push themselves to achieve – shown through their countless wins against Blair each year.
One might also recall Munch’s fantastic win during the limbo competition at the pep rally on Blair Day Eve. The secrets to this skill? Running hills, loads of biking and pilates. Needless to say, Munch’s level of flexibility is not limited to here. Maybe at the next pep rally, you’ll be able to see Munch doing splits!
Apart from her athleticism from playing softball since kindergarten and running up numerous hills in Vermont, it’s no joke how much Munch puts into her time coaching cross country and softball. In her role as coach for these two very different teams, she’s been able to see the different aspects the two teams take in general bonding from a girl and boy mix to an all-girls team. Both game days always stimulate her energy like a good can of Celsius, and she loves watching the big crowds of family and friends coming to support both teams each and every time. Moreover, what keeps Munch so motivated to power through these two seasons? “It’s always the team. It’s always you guys, the kids, that make it so great, of course, I love our coaching staff and cross country, I love the coaches on softball, but the team, like you guys, you’re what makes it fun.” For cross country, she recalls it was nice having Smriti ’24 braiding all the girls’ hair for the Mercer County Championships; while at softball, it’s almost everyday in which the girls have the opportunity to do so. But in the end, Munch shares her love equally for these two sports and whether it’s being an amazing source of cheer or a spectacular photographer, to keeping book of scores and stats, it’s evident Munch plays an important role to the athletes and the athletes to her the same.
As for a typical day, Munch is quite organized and efficient when it comes to school tasks and relaxation. In the morning, she’ll always make her bed, do a quick clean up in not only her room, but occasionally, also organize the dorm food aesthetically in the living room for the Avery dorm boys; not to mention, once in a while, having to deal with an ant infestation. Because Munch considers the dining hall more as to socialize in the evening, she’ll usually eat a to-go order or she’ll rely on her snacking while working throughout the day. After looking over her lesson plans for tomorrow during the night, she’ll be able to have her glorious time of watching her favorite reality tv shows including “The Golden Bachelor” as well as being able to watch “The Great British Bake Off” with faculty friends like Ms. Facey too. Of course, she’ll always have room for some quality time with her much-adored cat, Bisky.
As the Head of the Humanities team, Munch is in charge of organizing weekly meetings and checking in with the teachers to see how the class is doing with the curriculum agenda. Likewise, Munch has seen how well the students in clubs like the Writing Center have handled and pitched ideas, so she usually is mainly in charge of the logistics and as an advisor. “I think that’s what’s great about Peddie, is that even if it is technically a teacher run club–every club has a faculty advisor for it–it’s always the students who are taking initiative and taking that control, taking that ownness, and I think that’s awesome…It gives them a chance to figure it out on their own.”
As this busy fall term comes to an end, Munch is looking forward to driving seven and a half hours home to Ohio with her cat Bisky and enjoying her traditional pumpkin pie with her mom. The time crunch with all the grading has allowed Munch to become increasingly efficient overall than she already is and has had the energy boosters of her many excited students that bring genuine enthusiasm to all three of her classes.
Beyond the much enthusiasm and discussions on the classic “The Great Gatsby” for the sophomores, Munch has many fun events planned ahead and in store for winter term; including but not limited to volunteering at Walter C. Black Elementary school to read to and be read to by the children there, as the freshmen will be learning what it means being a citizen and pondering on the wonders of the ancient civilizations and origins of those societies. And as a summer student at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English about to earn her English master’s degree this year, Munch is excited to recite some famous soliloquies in Macbeth to the sophomores in the upcoming months.