LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Kirsten Farrell was nominated by an anonymous student.

"I am very excited to recommend 2018 California Teacher of The Year Kirsten Farrell as a Lifechanger of the Year," said her nominator. "I like to say that all of my teachers go above and beyond to help me in and out of the classroom, but I can’t necessarily give you tangible examples of how they do. However, with Ms. Farrell, my list is infinite."

Ms. Farrell is the founder and lead teacher for the Venice High Sports Medicine Team, which her nominator joined during their sophomore year. This was also the year her nominator broke their ankle during volleyball.

"I spent most of my time rehabbing my ankle in Ms. Farrell’s room, which allowed me to really get to know her, but from the perspective of an injured athlete instead of a teammate. During this time, I not only saw her give athletes the confidence they needed to heal, but I felt it for myself. I saw the passion and drive that Ms. Farrell provides for athletes to push themselves to do better and to be better. She went the extra mile to call doctors to make sure I was getting the best surgeon and the best treatment."

As an athletic trainer, Ms. Farrell knows what each athlete needs to recover and get back on the court or the field. On the other hand, she's also there for students beyond helping them with injuries. Ms. Farrell is always willing to talk, whether students need someone to lean on, or just want to discuss last night’s Grey’s Anatomy episode. Teachers like her make coming to school a much better experience - where you can gain so much while enjoying it all. You can always count on Ms. Farrell to light up a room with laughs and make kids happy to be there.

"Ms. Farrell is always happy to lend an open ear and an open heart, and I appreciate that very much," said her nominator. "While in her Sports Medicine class, which is considered an elective class and is different from the Sports Medicine Team, I saw that Ms. Farrell is no different in the classroom. She creates a comfortable environment for her students to collaborate and learn together with hands on experiences."

Ms. Farrell is not only a teacher who puts in hours of lesson planning and grading papers, but someone who truly uses her passion to leave a huge impact on people’s lives. She has gone out of her way to provide the Sports Medicine Team with amazing opportunities, like teaching them essentials to save a life, taking them to competitions in Washington every year, and planning future trips to Japan and New Zealand. Ms. Farrell even helped her nominator get an internship at West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation.

Each person on the team has to work 160 hours a year, and Ms. Farrell needs to be there for all of them. There’s 30 people on the team, so she puts in a lot of extra time, but she loves every second of it. She’s at every game, every match, every playoff, and when her school’s team is there to win it all. When it’s academic competition season, Ms. Farrell stays after hours for study sessions with those students preparing to compete.

"Ms. Farrell is a teacher on campus who the Venice community trusts, respects, and enjoys being around. From giving someone a place to heal, to giving someone a place to feel welcome, we always know we can count on Ms. Farrell in Shop 6," her nominator conclude. "With her compassion, ability to light up a room, and her willingness to do whatever it takes for the ones around her, we can only wish for more people like her in the world. However, since we can only wish, there’s no doubt in my mind that Ms. Farrell deserves to be honored as a LifeChanger of the Year."