By phoebe hodge , JRN 111 Student
If you’re walking through the halls of Moraine Valley and you hear music echoing from a classroom, there’s a good chance it’s coming from Erin Moncek’s room.
Peek in, and you’ll see a unique individual. Moncek stands out. Her hair is streaked with bright pinks and oranges, and she looks as if she could keep a houseplant alive for well over a couple months.
Moncek has been an adjunct communications professor at Moraine Valley since 2022 and also works at Kankakee Community College. Her personality parallels the nature of her colorful hair, and her outlook on life is positive even though it should be anything but.
Her mother was an opera singer, which is where she credits her love of music. “Music is just what makes me feel comfortable. Sometimes I just need it to feel at peace,” she said.
She realized that music was doing the same for her students. Music in her classroom can range from soft meditation sounds to the Foo Fighters.
“I did it one day because I think I was just having a bad day, but then I noticed people were asking questions more,” she said.
Moncek is always concerned with how her students are doing, always checking with them.
“I’ve had really hard days, and I know my students can have really hard days because I know everyone comes from their own chaotic background like I do,” she said.
Moncek knows chaos better than most.
She was raised in New Lenox by parents James and Roberta Biesen. Growing up, she was a self-proclaimed dork who loved figure skating and a good book. However, her life took a turn for the worse when between her freshman and sophomore year, her father was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
“At that point, we hadn’t known anyone with cancer or who had been sick,” she said. “We were the first ones, and it was very challenging to navigate.”
Moncek was unsure if her dad was going to be around for the important milestones in her life. Her father had surgery and went through 30 rounds of radiation. Fortunately, he survived.
“At the end of the day, he saw so much more than we thought he would see,” she said.
Moncek obtained a bachelor’s in journalism from North Central College and went on to work for a business-to-business publication. It wasn’t until after she had her kids that she got her master’s degree in English Studies through ASU. Obtaining her master’s was one of the proudest accomplishments of her life because she was doing all for herself.
“It was kind of the reward after the scary shitty time,” she said.
“My husband and I decided that when things get really scary… instead of letting ourselves show it in front of the kids, we would have a dance party. And there were so many dance parties.”
Erin Moncek
Moncek has a lot of medical anxiety not just because of what she went through with her father, but because she almost died while giving birth to her oldest son, Ben: “I was actually what they call a postpartum hemorrhage, so the left uterine artery had ruptured and it wouldn’t stop bleeding.”
The medical issues continued with her younger son Hank. When Hank was born, his breathing wasn’t right. That’s when one of the worst things that can happen to a parent happened.
“At five days old–we were at home–he stopped breathing and he turned blue,” Moncek said.
Doctors treated him for sleep apnea and sent him home with his parents. Moncek realized Hank wasn’t drinking, eating or hitting milestones, so doctors investigated his case further.
“At one point, I got a phone call that we had tapped Chicago out and there was not any test, or any doctor in Chicago that could help, ” she said.
Moncek traveled to Philadelphia to find out what was causing Hank’s issues. While she was there, she got a call from Rush Hospital in Chicago saying that the genetic testing her son did showed markers for BRPF1, a rare genetic condition that can cause many medical challenges. At the time, it had only been diagnosed in 20 patients. This news didn’t exactly give Moncek the clarity she needed.
“I call him our little lottery ticket because what are the chances, right?” she said with a smile and a laugh. “I’m a better person because of everything I’ve experienced with him.”
Hank’s journey gave Moncek a new perspective on life. She also found that the experience she had with her father’s health journey had given her a patience and sense of calm. Motherhood gave her more empathy for other people as well.
She was even able to pass along her own wisdom: “We were at a doctor’s office one day, and this mom came out with her baby, just sobbing, and I was like ‘I know you don’t know me, and I know today is hard, but you got this, I promise. It will get better.’”
When going through difficult times, people find ways to cope, but most people don’t do it like Moncek.
“My husband and I decided that when things get really scary, if we got a phone call from a doctor or there’s something we were worried about with Hank, instead of letting ourselves show it in front of the kids, we would have a dance party. And there were so many dance parties,” she said.
The most surprising thing about her is that despite having a rough past, she has a very Zen mentality about all of it.
“That took a lot of time and therapy,” she said.
Longtime friend and coworker Stephanie Lab says Moncek’s efforts to come to terms with her own experiences are benefiting others in turn.
“She has a desire to understand people,” Lab said. “If someone is being standoffish, or if somebody gives you a short answer or clings onto you, oftentimes there is so much more behind that than what you are seeing. She takes that extra moment to look for the why and doesn’t just accept everything at face value.”
Moncek has a tendency to check in with her students at the end of class, and she makes it a goal to end on a good note.
“When it comes to my students, sometimes I can‘t shut off the mom mode. I’m always like ‘Are you guys okay? How’s everyone doing today?’” she said.
Moncek wears a lot of hats in her life. In addition to teaching, she is also skating director of the Inwood Ice Arena in Joliet and a trustee on the board of the New Lenox Library.
“When I’m at the library, I’m trying to think what we can do for kiddos like Hank who have dyslexia and reading doesn’t come easy,” she said. “Can we make sure we’re doing more to get the same audiobooks and printed books so they can get an audio book and printed book so they can follow along?”
For Moncek, it always seems to come back to her “kiddos.” She credits them for the person she is today, and she found that the reason she was so active in the community was often because of her kids. She says that before having her kids, she could be an “annoying Karen.”
“I probably had anger and resentment from stuff I went through with my dad. I worked and made the effort to handle things appropriately, and make sure I was taking care of myself and them so that we were all good together.”
Moncek has a habit of taking her tough life experiences and turning them into something positive. Her reasons for certain practices in the classroom are often because of her background.
“I want everyone to understand that they can breathe in the class,” she said. “We’ll figure something out and work together. That’s why I try to end on a happy note as much as I can and check in and see how everyone is doing.
“Because we all have our stuff that makes life crazy.”
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