Andre de Muinck was born in the Netherlands and thankfully lived through the German occupation. Dre overcame many obstacles in his life and now happily gives back to the community by serving as a mentor and a woodshop teacher for The Master’s Apprentice.
“Dre’s” story is a fascinating and inspiring story of overcoming adversity and working hard to gain success. Because of Andre’s father’s ingenuity his family survived the war; however his father passed in 1947. Andre’s uncle, who lived in the United States, provided Dre and his two brothers an opportunity to emigrate to the USA. Dre was the only one who took advantage of the offer and at the age of 16, shortly after his High School graduation in the Netherlands, Dre’s Aunt and Uncle sponsored his way to the USA.
Dre completed High School in New Jersey, and then served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps. Dre received a degree in Civil Engineering from Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology) and worked for Johns Manville Corporation for 22 years as a Project Engineer in their Fiberglass and Process Development Division. He created a number of inventions for JMC that provided substantial cost reductions for the company. His expertise in combustion systems was used to create a unique combustion system for perlite expanders (US patent 4290749).
Dre is an outstanding Engineer and offers many life and work experiences to students and staff as a valued coach for The Master’s Apprentice program.
Dre and his wife of 15 years, Jeanne have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.