Illinois State’s Office of Admissions owes a debt of gratitude to John ’89 and Janice (Metz) Engelman ’89. They’ve been sending kids to Illinois State for years—and not just their own.
Appears InThe Engelmans are career educators with four alumni children. Janice proudly displays an Illinois State flag in her kindergarten classroom. John guided annual campus tours for students in his district. “We’d take a busload down every year,” he said. “I was proud to show them campus. I always pointed out where I proposed to Janice (on the bridge over College Avenue).”
The Engelmans met as students at Kankakee Community College (KCC) before transferring to Illinois State. All four children followed in their footsteps, starting at KCC and finishing at Illinois State. “It was easy to transfer to ISU, an easy transition,” Janice said.
John taught in Herscher for 22 years; he’s the winningest girls’ basketball coach in Herscher High School history. He spent 12 years as principal at Gardner-South Wilmington High School before retiring this spring. Janice has taught in the Herscher school district for 34 years. She’ll retire next year.
Three Engelman children—Alicia (Engelman) Sobodas ’11, Anthony Engelman ’19, and Luke Engelman ’21—are teachers and coaches in Manteno. Alicia’s husband, Dan Sobodas ’12, also teaches in Manteno. Spike Engelman ’16 is a benefits consultant and founder of Level Up Social Club in Chicago; many social club attendees are Illinois State alumni.
The Engelmans return to campus often. They usually return home with a bag of Avanti’s Gondolas. A Gamma Phi Circus alum, Janice comes back every year for the campus performance. She brings her two grandchildren now.
The Engelman children carry on their parents’ roles as unofficial recruiters. Alicia brought her fifth-grade class down for a field trip several years ago. One student told her that day she wanted to attend ISU. “That student just graduated and she’s at ISU this fall,” John said. “We think that’s pretty cool.”
