“To be or not to be” was Mr. Winkelmann’s question as he considered becoming an English teacher. Luckily for the St. Dominic community, it was not to be, as he decided to obtain minors in philosophy and religion. As a 2006 alum of St. Dominic High School, Winkelmann is proud to return to the halls of his former school.

Mr. Winkelmann was inspired by his high school teachers to study education. Graduating with a 31 on the ACT, he pursued his education at Truman State University and Lindenwood University. He worked towards a degree in English, but later decided teaching religion was his true calling.

Mr. Winkelmann chose to teach at St. Dominic because the students base their everyday lives on faith. He loves guiding students on how to deepen their relationship with God. Mr. Winkelmann  sincerely cherishes teaching, especially Paschal Mystery and Revelations.

“I like the fact that we bring faith into our school. It’s not just about the numbers, the reading and the writing. It is primarily God in everything, which is important to me,” Mr. Winkelmann said.

Growing up, Mr. Winkelmann was passionate about faith, family and sports. Attending Assumption Grade School, he spent a lot of time playing games with family and friends. Mr. Winkelmann’s father established his devotion towards sports. One childhood memory was pitching a no-hitter in grade school. Even to his adulthood, Mr. Winkelmann continued his love of Catholic education and sports. Another moment involving sports was at Immaculate Conception of Old Monroe where he played on a staff dodgeball team.

“I guess that they hadn’t seen somebody be good at dodgeball, and they started chanting my name. Winkelmann! Winkelmann! The whole school was chanting my name; it was pretty cool,” Mr. Winkelmann said.

Whether “to be or not to be,” Mr. Winkelmann accomplished his calling to become a high school religion teacher.