No person is one-dimensional. Mr. Famili isn’t just a Precalculus and Integrated III teacher at SDHS; he’s an example of a person who truly embraces and uses all their talents.
Before getting completely into teaching, Mr. Famili was a production technologist, technician, and applications engineer who worked extensively with industrial machinery. He formed and manufactured many industrial machine parts.
Even though his talent was evident with kickboxing, wrestling, martial arts, judo, ju jitso, and karate through all his trophies, he broke his hand kickboxing. He knew his hand would never be the same again, but didn’t want to just “lay down on the couch watching T.V. or the opera all day long while healing.” He knew he had to do something more.
Expressing this to his friend, it was suggested he go into teaching. He studied all the needed math in 4 to 5 weeks, which was “easy” according to him, and took the tests needed to obtain his teaching credential. While still being responsible to manufacturing, production, machining, and engineering jobs on the side, one injury led Famili into his future here at San Dimas High School. The trade skills of being a toolmaker and machinist was what paid for his college and bills.
His teaching skills also extend to ACT, SAT, math, and science tutoring. In fact, he tutored kids for free at the neglected first high school he used to teach at, Centennial High School in Compton, CA.
“I read and tutored at that time. So many nights I brought food and pizza. There, I was a confidant, a family, I would drive them home so that they didn’t get shot at,” expresses Famili.
However, his story doesn’t stop there. Mr. Famili’s main goal is to get involved in politics and law in the near future. To support his education financially he’s going to use his chemistry, production technology, and electromechanical systems degrees to give him helpful side jobs.
“After 9/11 happened, I decided I wanted to be a diplomat. I saw a photo of two people holding hands and jumping- the only choice was to jump or get burned so seeing that photo changed my life. I’m done here in a couple years; I’m going to a get a doctorate in international law so that I can make a difference,” he confirms.
Mr. Famili stated his goal, once involved in law, is going to be becoming an ambassador to the Middle East, specifically in places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. One of his biggest inspirations is Golda Meir, a former woman prime minister of Israel. She expressed that loving the children is more important than creating destructive displays of hatred towards specific groups of people. Eleanor Roosevelt’s statement of “It’s better to light a candle than curse at the darkness,” is also something he reminds himself of every day. SDHS English teacher Mr. Coulter’s book, Bloods, Crips, and Starship: How I learned to lead self in a Black and White Country is another source of inspiration.
“I am going to see if I can find a way to find common ground for them to become a community again. There is a lot that they are antagonistic about, but they do have common ground that they’re just ignoring. If I can figure out how to make them prioritize the things they care about rather than displays of hatred, it would be a huge improvement. The death toll has gone to 70 thousand which is unbelievable. It is a result of people thinking that destruction is something productive.”
He hopes to unite people with his multilingual knowledge of 4 languages: Farsi, Semani, English, and Spanish. He is currently in the process of trying to learn French and Arabic. Famili actually learned more English through Marvel. Reading X- man allowed him to improve his English.
Although, with these lofty goals comes a need for release. A way that Famili gets creative is playing the guitar, specifically bluegrass country-folk style music along with rock. However, he keeps his musical talents behind closed doors, “Mr. Sandt wants me to plays for SD Rocks but I keep saying no because I don’t think I’m good enough,” says Famili.
More artistic talents of Mr. Famili’s include playing the tumbas (a type of drum), using electronic software sometimes to mix music, and making documentaries and movie scripts. In fact, he is going to approach the Drama Department before he leaves San Dimas as an attempt of getting some of his screenplays showcased.
Due to poor management, the high school in Compton was continuously tagged because of gangs. One of his teacher colleagues in Centennial said that he had to use his inventiveness stop the tagging. After wondering what he could do, the solution Famili provided to the occurring tagging was his abstract and mathematical artwork. The inspiration was from a comic called Spawn. His most noticeable work is a giant nebula painting above the blackboard of his old classroom.
“I’m not an artist, I just found a way,” he feels.
Most on campus know Mr. Famili as a math teacher. Famili spoke about the importance of his subject, “The most important contribution about math is that it’s a link between all other science. Math is that link that unites all forms of science interception. You use it in physics, chemistry, and even biology.”
Another thing people on SDHS’s campus tend to be curious about is his intuition, especially with the way he predicts when someone “is approaching.” He does this through observing, memorizing peoples’ habits, behavior, and the time they take to remember who they are.
Famili already is widely respected at San Dimas but another interesting way he gained respect at his previous high school was through training students for the ROTC, a program that trained kids to join the military. This quality came from how he himself had good enough grades to complete the aspiration of joining the military himself, but could not do so since he would have been sent to risky overseas areas away from his family way too soon.
Through experience travelling to places Iran, Dubai, Qatar, Mexico, Canada, France, Switzerland, and Turkey, Mr. Famili still proclaims the U.S. as his favorite place to be since even though the capitalism aspect of it may be frustrating for a lot of people, it is true that it allows for more inventiveness to be displayed. It’s what allows you to follow all your passions without limits.
Finances being managed poorly, especially by the government are a reason for a lot of the issues seen in life. Even though Native American reservations are meant to be reservations, it was hardly seen as one when Mr. Famili saw a huge drinking problem going on at the Tohono O’odham Reservation through a close Native American wrestling partner. He donated as much as he could, including better wrestling items but it is still an ever going issue.
“I wrestled partners on the dirt in the Indian Reservation. Part of me woke up. I realized I had been around machines for too long. I tapped back into my humanity after donating to the Indian Reservation,” he farther expresses.
With the passion, seriousness, and care he has shown throughout all the journeys life has given San Dimas’ Mr. Famili, it is no doubt that he’ll continue to make amazing and impactful differences with all the places in the world he’ll gift his knowledge to in the future.
