Dr. Thomas Crochunis
Dr. Crochunis is Associate Professor of English. He teaches Honors Academic Writing and Honors Intro to Literature.
All About Dr. Crochunis!
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: No, no pets. Unless you count the groundhogs in my yard….
Q: What is your favorite at-home hobby?
A: I suppose the main things I do with my time are running (around 50 miles per week these days), cooking (I especially enjoy making soup and Mexican, Indian, and Thai food, and listening to music (see below).
Q: Do you have any wisdom to share about staying sane in a situation such as this?
A: For me, exercising regularly is key. I have to get my run in or my mood gets a little crazy. And having a little bit of a routine with my family—dinner together, watching a TV show together (sometimes), and sometimes exercising together.
Q: What do you miss most about being on campus?
A: No question: Seeing students in class. It’s hard to explain just how much I rely on the gradual getting to know people in a low-key way when we have a class together. But it’s also missing seeing former students as I walk across campus. Always a real mood elevator when I see someone and exchange a few words to catch up with how it’s going for them. Actually, just saying this is making me miss it even more and making me wonder how a wide range of former students are doing these days….
Q: What type of music do you listen to most?
A: This is a question that can’t be answered in brief. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music—classical, jazz, many different eras of rock/pop, some folk/roots music, some R&B, a little rap/hip hop (been exploring this more recently). I rarely drive anywhere in my car without music playing. And now that I’m on the computer a good bit, I’ve been listening to music while I work a bit more, though it sometimes distracts me. My most recent finds have been Gabrielle Papillon, The Young Novelists (who played at the U Grille just before the pandemic hit), Dúo del Mar, Imperial Teen, and the Zela Margossian Quintet. And I’m still listening to H.E.R. a good bit.
Q: What TV shows have you been watching lately?
A: Anne with an E. It’s a Canadian series based on Anne of Green Gables. Even though it’s set in the past, it’s a reimagination of the source material with some great acting and remarkably contemporary themes.