For the past 34 years, Ray Gonsiorowski has been teaching microbiology at MATC. On May 23, he will be retiring. Although he is well known by students for his science instruction, many people don’t know much about the man himself; what his hobbies are or what he plans to do when he leaves MATC.

Ray attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for his undergraduate degree and then went to both the Universities of Madison and Milwaukee for his graduate degree. While getting his teaching license, Ray worked for Madison General Hospital as a medical technologist and educational coordinator and also a student teacher at McFarland High School near Madison.

On a whim, Ray applied to a few vocational and technical colleges, and was hired by MATC in January of 1977. He first taught Medical Technology MLT (now known as CLT) at the Milwaukee Campus. After spending 17 years downtown, Ray moved to the Oak Creek Campus, specializing in microbiology.

Having attended MATC for two years before going on to the Wisconsin universities, Gonsiorowski said, “I have a special place in my heart for MATC — I want to give students the same opportunities I had because MATC gave me a solid academic background.”

Like others when they retire, Ray has big plans. He already has his summer booked with a lot of fishing at his property near the lake, where he can tie his own trout flies.

His five granddaughters all have birthdays in the summer.  For winter, Ray was thinking of heading down to Florida to get away from the cold weather. Ray is also an avid bird watcher and feeder and he loves yard work.

Another hobby is cooking. He says “Chemistry and cooking go hand in hand.” As if to prove his point, Ray shares that he developed a special scone (a pastry bread that goes well with coffee) recipe that only he and his family know about. From what staff members say around campus, he makes the best scones ever.

Other than the fact that he has multiple academic achievements as a teacher and many personal hobbies, he is also recognized as a father to three children. Gonsiorowski was recently rumored that he would open up a ballet studio for his semi-professional ballet dancing daughter when he retires. Ray said he will, but only if she wants to become fully professional. His youngest daughter majors in dance and English at the University of Iowa.

When asked about the most memorable moment he had while teaching, he explained that, especially in chemistry after 34 years, you always think you’ve seen everything.

A student once tried to adjust a Bunsen flame, and dislodged the barrel, resulting in a flame shooting out of a hose, fueled by gas pressure. The accident was easily corrected by shutting off the gas, but Ray said that he wouldn’t be forgetting that moment any time soon.

When Ray retires, he said that he might consider coming back part-time. He enjoyed the time he has been here, and will dearly miss it. “I will have a little tear in my eye when I leave,” he comments. Ray also said that his leaving has nothing to do with anyone’s political agenda; he states that he will be retiring due to the simple reason that “it’s just time after 34 years”.