No person is one-dimensional. Mr. Famili isn’t just a Precalculus and Integrated II Math Teacher; he’s an example of a person who truly embraces and uses all their talents.
Before his current job as a teacher, Mr. Famili was a technician and manufacturing engineer who worked extensively with industrial machinery. He designed and manufactured all of his own designs.
He was also a professional kickboxer, but when he broke his hand while doing so, he didn’t want to just “lay down on the couch watching T.V. 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 completing engineering jobs on the side, one injury led Famili into his future here at San Dimas High School.
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 and electrical engineering degree to give him helpful side jobs.
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. “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. Golda Meir, a woman Israeli politician is a huge inspiration for me. Palestinians love their children more than they hate us. 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 700 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.
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.
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 its 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.”
Through experience living in 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 not a lie that capitalism leads to a lot innovation. It’s what allows you to follow all your passions without limits.
