Owning over 50 pairs of shoes, attending the original Farm Aid, and running 24 half marathons, including one in California and one in Ireland, 19-year chorus teacher Chris Corpus has undoubtedly had some interesting life experiences.

When asked if they’d heard any rumors about Mrs. Corpus, most students had a response similar to that of senior Amber Nanni and sophomore Sami Spain.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really heard anything about her,” Spain said.

“I don’t even know what she looks like,” Nanni said, “I just know she’s a singing teacher.”

Proud of her good reputation among students, Corpus said, “I’m really an open book.”

Now for the ‘real dirt’…

Fiction: “Mrs. Corpus is a crazy cat lady,” band director Jason Landes said.

Owning only two cats, Baxter and Lucy, Corpus assured me she was indeed not a “crazy cat lady”.

“It’s quite the opposite – I’m actually allergic to cats,” Corpus added.

Fiction: “I think she used to be really into skateboarding,” senior Lauren Black said.

When she heard this, Corpus laughed. “I can’t stay up on one for more than like two seconds,” she said, remarking on how clumsy she is. On the athletic side of things, she does however run regularly. Since her first marathon in 2003, Corpus has run 24 half marathons and six marathons and is currently training for her seventh.

“I didn’t run in high school or anything, I just wanted to try something new and get in shape,” Corpus said.

Fact: “I think she’s really into fantasy football and makes a bracket and everything,” senior Drew Johnson said.

Corpus has been playing fantasy football for the last 15 years. She started because a friend of hers wanted to be a part of a league, but couldn’t be at the draft, so she filled in for him.

“I kind of have a knack for it,” Corpus said nonchalantly. “This year I won my division, came in second overall, and won our league’s confidence pool.”

Being the highly competitive person she is, she did some research and ended up kicking her friend off of the team.

“I’d like to say I have ‘mad skillz’. That’s skills with a z just to clarify,” she playfully added.

Fact: “She’s either really lucky or she studies sports like no other. She knows [the faculty basketball bracket] is a sore spot for me,” said PE teacher Lester Hampton. Hampton is also the boys track and cross-country coach, so he knows a thing or two about sports.

Winning the faculty basketball bracket a couple times, Corpus frustrates other teachers with her “mad skillz.”

“I just have the dumbest luck,” Corpus admits.

Fiction: “Mrs. Corpus doesn’t get sick because she eats cuties,” senior Rickey Orr said.

Two years ago, Corpus bragged about not getting sick that year because she ate two cutie oranges a day, but confirmed that was not true due to her getting sick recently. It was just one of many of her humorous remarks during Concert Choir.

Fact: “Two minutes before every concert, Mr. Webb texts her asking if she’s ready. If he does then it’s good luck,” junior Elyse Schoenig said.

“That’s true,” Corpus confirmed, then adds teasingly, “he’s done that for as long as I can remember. He’s like the little brother I’ve never wanted.”

Fiction: “I heard Mrs. Corpus has a tattoo on her back; a rebellious one,” freshman Abby Totten said.

Though she has thought about getting one on many occasions, Corpus does not have a tattoo because she is too indecisive. Those who have witnessed her attempting to choose a singer for a solo, know this statement is true.

“It’s not like I’m against tattoos or anything, I just can’t decide,” Corpus said. “I can’t think of just one thing to define me.”

Fact: “My mom said that she acts in plays around town,” sophomore Sean Supan said.

Although she hasn’t been involved in community theater recently, she has been in the past. She was in Suds, which featured music of the 60’s, as well as Sound of Music, where some of the Von Trapp children she acted with grew up to be U-High Students, including Grace Henderson and Jay Simmons.

“My all time favorite role was playing Laurie in Oklahoma,” Corpus said.

Fiction: “Alison Krauss is probably way more interesting than Mrs. Corpus,” Landes said jokingly.

Although this statement is far from a fact, Corpus does have a connection to Alison Krauss. While attending college at the University of Illinois, Corpus was in an a cappella group when a girl named Alison Krauss auditioned. Not knowing that Krauss would later become a famous bluegrass singer, Corpus and her group didn’t let her in.

“It’s not like she wasn’t good or anything, she was great. Her voice just didn’t blend,” Corpus said, justifying her decision.

Krauss went on to a successful Bluegrass and Country music career, winning 27 Grammy Awards in her lifetime.

Though none of the rumors floating around about Chris Corpus exposed her hidden talent of belching on command, the fact that she was born with red hair, or that a student once brought a monkey to class while she was teaching choir in Hillsboro, Illinois, they did reveal a bit of the excitement within her life.

“I’m extremely flattered to be the subject of this article, but I think there are a lot more interesting teachers at our school,” Corpus concluded. “Or are there? Fact or Fiction…”