Mike Koehler

December 12, 2012

Ten Questions With ... Mike Koehler

Job on campus and department you work in: Assistant Professor, SIU School of Law.

How long at SIU Carbondale: Since August 2012

Hometown:  Elkhart Lake, Wisc.

When you were a youngster, what did you want to be when you grew up?   I had a fascination with maps and wanted to make maps.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be and why  After becoming an academic after 10 years of being a lawyer in private practice, I can’t imagine doing anything else.  But, if I must choose, perhaps a National Park Ranger because I like the outdoors.

What is one random fact about you?  I am a two-time (and counting) Ironman triathlete.

What three things are at the top of your bucket list? I want to do the Ironman in Hawaii, spend a week as a cattle rancher in the mountain west, and be a college mascot for a big game.

What is your favorite way to spend a day? Wake up with coffee and newspapers, do some writing and thinking, exercise, and spend time with my family.

What is the best advice you ever received? Think of the possibilities.

 What was your first car?  Would you like to have it again?  Why or why not? A Buick Skylark.   Yes, it was my great-grandma’s car.  It was cool, you dimmed the headlights by tapping a button on the floor.

 If you could meet an historical person, who would it be and what would you talk about? Lewis and Clark -- that must have been one heck of road trip.

Favorite TV show Any documentary program that introduces me to something I didn’t previously know.

What would you like your gravestone to say about you?  A small town kid with big time dreams.