Mr. Kuhn, someone who pushes you to your fullest extent, challenged me daily inside and outside of the classroom. As both my golf coach and my teacher, there was no escaping him. I had him as a coach for 4 years, as well as a teacher for two. He lived and breathed history.  Every time he would go on a trip with his kids, they had to go see something historical. A trip to Arkansas meant a visit to Little Rock High School, a trip to Maryland meant exploring Washington D.C., a trip to Pennsylvania meant observing the Liberty Bell. This burning passion for history translated directly into his lectures in the classroom.

APUSH is usually the first AP class students take at Mundelein. He truly made it feel like one. When walking into his room for the first time, my eyes were flooded with red, white, and blue. Different informational posters from historical monuments, elections dating back to 1952, and of course the 46 presidents. In his room there was no such thing as late work or reassessments, all tests were timed, and everything was for a grade. “This is what the AP test is like”, he would repeat over and over to remind us that he had reasoning behind his extreme workload and strict environment. While testing, the sound of the clock would pulsate inside my head with every tick. I had never struggled so much in a class. He did not give any special treatment and picked on everyone. Every day was a new challenge, where you were on the edge of your seat wondering if you were going to get picked on that day. Kuhn would ask, “What were three effects of the Cold War?”, he would get nothing but about 25 blank stares back. Then all of the sudden he would scream, “Beggars!” and I knew I was next on the chopping block. 

Beggars is the nickname Kuhn gave me on the first day of golf. The only way he would remember your name is to give you a nickname. Kuhn has a nickname for every single kid he meets. Mine is Beggars because my last name is Begg and there is a pizza place in the city named “Beggars Pizza”. My teammate is Taylormade because her name is Taiylor. To my teammates and I, Kuhn is known for his little pep talks before and after matches. He stands at the front of the mini bus with both hands on opposite bus seats, waiting for us to settle down. He’ll give us a speech about how we did or are going to do in a match, while we all start to gossip about our opponents. Along with these pep talks, I would become motivated when he would say, “This is your game and it is up to you on how you want to play and how much work you want to put in”. In reality, it is as simple as that. Golf is as much of a team sport as an individual one, which Kuhn also consistently reminds us. There are days where I just simply do not care and I’m fine with however I play; until I start to think about my teammates and how I may be letting them down. But then, I’ll hit a straight, solid, 250-yard drive, and Kuhn will be in the back of my head yelling, “There’s that Beggars drive!”.

Except for at practice, where Mr. Kuhn would try to hint at what may or may not be on tomorrow’s quiz, I did not receive much special treatment from him. He gave me my first “B” ever. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I begged and pleaded to get another opportunity to bring up my grade, but as always it was, “You can’t always Begg for it Beggars”. During school and golf, he has always pushed me to do my best, even though sometimes I don’t have the motivation to do so. I am not afraid to be wrong, because what matters is I tried, which is the biggest lesson Mr. Kuhn has taught me.  Now I sit in the back of my seat, eager to answer any questions teachers may throw at me.