Dr. Charles Sundquist will be departing Mountain Lakes High School before 2017 comes to a close. You may be asking: “Well, that’s sad, but who IS Dr. Charles Sundquist?” Dr. Sundquist has been directing the all choir groups (freshman, morning, and chamber choir) and teaching AP music theory at MLHS for 10 years. He has inspired scores of lucky students, and will not be forgotten. You may be now be thinking “But WHY will he not be forgotten?” —well, I was just about to get to that.
Like none that I have seen before, Dr. Sundquist has a deep connection with music. Senior Juliet Hounsell agrees, explaining that “he cares so much about musicality rather than the technicality…[and] the meaning behind the music. It inspires his students and makes them have a deeper appreciation with music.” Juliet has had Dr. Sundquist for four years and will “miss his extreme passion for what he does because it is incomparable to any other teacher [she has experienced]. It’s amazing.” And truly, it is: such profound love for what he does truly affects his teaching; not only are students better educated, but they are also taught to get love music themselves.
Now, if you know anything about Dr. Sundquist, you know how good his cookies are. I mean, come on! They’re a godsend. There has to be a secret recipe! Juliet thinks his cookies are made with “a whole lotta love,” which they most definitely are. I questioned him about these famous cookies, and he told me that the secret recipe is “BUTTER!” I feel like this may not be entirely true; there must be more to it. This past weekend, I conducted a little experiment: I tried to make cookies from scratch using extra butter, and while they were very good, they were not “Sunny” good. Maybe the true magic of Dr. Sundquist’s cookies is credited to the fact that he has baked over 5,000 in the past 10 years, during which he has perfected the recipe and technique.
So we know that Dr. Sundquist will be missed by MLHS, but will he miss us? He says that he will miss the students most of all (which is pretty cute). Dr. Sundquist has grown to love all of his students, and it will be hard for him to say goodbye. The most rewarding part of his time here at MLHS has been “seeing students succeed… [and realize that] time and effort can be gratifying. Sometimes that process takes months, which is difficult for some students [for whom] immediacy reigns”.
In addition, there are some moments here at MLHS that Dr. Sundquist will not soon forget. His fondest memory here has been “the choir tour to Sweden. [The choir] sang at one of the most beautiful cathedrals with [their] host choir in Vaxjo”. He further explained that “the spring concerts are always memorable when [the choir] say[s] goodbye to [their] seniors, having taught some of them for up to six years.”
Dr. Sundquist: a teacher, a mentor, and a friend. He has heard the best and the worst singing voices (like my own) throughout his time here, and has taught all how to improve, which is the most important part of teaching. All jokes aside, we here at Mountain Lakes High School are going to miss him dearly and would like to wish him good luck with the next step in life. We know that no matter where he may be, he will bring smiles and joy (and all of the Peanuts movies), because he is a ray of sunshine.
Dr. Sundquist, please visit sometime! And when you are ready to tell the REAL secret recipe, please let me know. Wherever you may wander and wherever you may roam, you may always think of Mountain Lakes as your home (yee haw)?
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