By: Giselle Robles
We're excited to announce the return of our Spotlight series, organized this year by senior journalism student Giselle Robles. Most weeks you will see us featuring a student and their adventures outside of the classroom, but this week we introduce you to the newest member of the MMACHS faculty.
Imagine being home, eating dinner with your family, and casually chatting with them about your day. The conversations at the dinner table may vary quite a bit. You may get some highlights, some lingering thoughts ready to be shared, or if you are in Mrs. Funk’s family you may discuss the intense accidents you encountered on your 12-hour EMT shift.
Mrs. Funk is our wonderful new EMT teacher, joining the MMACHS family this fall, and we are beyond thrilled to welcome her!
EMS has been a foundation for Mrs. Funk's family. She shares a passion for emergency service with her husband, who she has often worked with in the field, as well as her daughter, who is also an EMT.
Mrs. Funk is still an active Advanced EMT, and the balance of being an emergency technician and a teacher can be a lot. However, to an empowering Mrs. Funk, these titles are only an extension of her passion regarding being a mother.
According to Mrs. Funk, her own children are the reason why she became passionate about emergency services when she realized how beneficial it would be in her own home. "With emergency services, you need to know just about everything in healthcare" she said, "so for me to know that allows me the most benefit towards my children’s health”.
Teaching was a career that nobody in her life could have seen coming. However, for her, she learned that her love for emergency services can be put to more use than just being on call. Allowing new generations to learn is what she calls a “breath of fresh air”, something that makes her feel great about her career.
On weekends and holidays, you will most likely catch Mrs. Funk in an ambulance going from incident to incident and feeling enthusiastic about being there. She learns something new every week. “Not many stay in EMS when they begin another career of their life, but it allows me to keep up with the new methods, so I can bring them to class and apply them correctly” she said.
And she's already fitting in at her new home. Her newest bunch of students this semester spoke on her behalf and the great first impression she made was clear.
“She treats us like real people… She always makes sure we know WHY she is teaching us something” says senior, Lauren Jones.
Mrs. Funk speaks of her passion towards her career in ways that not many do. Finding such joy and purpose in your day-to-day job is a goal that many should strive for, and we're lucky to have her example in our hallways.
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