Jake Recker | Staff Writer for The Mount
With the start of a new school year comes change. Some of this change includes an entirely new science department. Dr. Randy Crnkovich, in his first year of teaching, is also joined by chemistry teacher Leah Zohner and physics teacher David Primavera. Aside from being head of the department, Crnkovich is teaching four freshman Biology classes, and two senior classes, Anatomy and Physiology and A.P. Biology. Even though he has always wanted to teach, this is Crnkovich’s first year as a teacher.
After
attending Creighton University, where he received a degree in Biology,
Crnkovich was faced with a tough decision: pursue a career as a
veterinarian or become a teacher straight out of college. After much
deliberation, he decided to become a vet but with the idea that he would
teach sometime in the future. Crnkovich finished veterinary school at
Kansas State University where he received his Doctor of Veterinary
Medicine (DVM) degree.It’s not hard to find work as a vet, and Crnkovich had plenty. Aside from making house calls to individual clients, he would also work at other veterinary clinics when they needed extra help. He also worked as a drug rep on the side, selling major prescription drugs to hospitals in the Omaha area. One dream he never realized was to open his own veterinary clinic. “I always wanted to be able to run my own clinic, but if I did, it would take away from the time I spent with my family,” said Crnkovich. As a father of four children, one of whom, junior Jarrett Crnkovich, is currently a student at Mount Michael. So it was hard for Dr. Crnkovich to devote the long hours needed to run a clinic.
After 18 years as a vet, Crnkovich decided it was time to go back to school and get a teaching degree. “I just got to that point in my life where I wanted to go back to school and get my degree so that I could teach,” said Crnkovich. After receiving his teaching degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, his dream job, teaching science at Mount Michael, was open. “Before I even became a teacher I really liked Mount Michael,” said Crnkovich, “I always saw myself teaching here and if I had not got the job here, I probably would not have started teaching right away.” With the school year in full swing, Crnkovich doesn’t see himself changing anything except for maybe coaching sports in a few years. “I am really happy here and I hope to be able to stay teaching here for as long as I can,” said Crnkovich.
