“I am who I choose to be.”
This is what one of many posters says on Jacob Munyer’s wall.
That is exactly what he did.
The Lakeland High School teacher’s upbringing was not one most kids could relate to. He did not grow in a good neighborhood.
With gangs and violence everywhere you looked, school naturally came second to most kids in Inglewood, California. L.A. riots and gang activity were nothing new to Munyer and neither was being the only white kid in his neighborhood. His teachers did not care about their students’ lives, his parents were disconnected and were not good at their job as mother and father, and Munyer found himself with two choices: let himself become what seems natural, what you grow up seeing, or be the person he wished he had in his life.
“I didn’t have a traditional home by any means,” Munyer said.
Munyer went on and off living with his grandparents, but when his grandmother had a stroke his grandfather had to prioritize taking care of his wife, so Munyer had to leave.
Munyer was about 14 years old when he started living with a Polynesian family.
“They took me in and helped me out when I was struggling,” Munyer said.
While Munyer lived with this family he learned how to speak Tongan and he got on his own two feet.
Munyer is who is today because he decided to not let his circumstances and upbringing define what he became.
He could have chosen to join a gang at a young age, start drugs, get himself hurt or perhaps hurt other people. But instead, he wrote his own story and he chose who he wanted to be.
Munyer got a job at the airport and he worked there until 9/11 and he was laid off along with many other airport employees.
He then started working in human development and human resource management.
He started working and helping three kids. He would take them to the VA hospital and teach them how to do things like clean tables and sweep floors.
In the next year, Munyer was hired to a classroom as a work abilities service provider.
After jumping from school to school over a few years and getting different experiences, Munyer was growing his own family.
He decided he wanted to be a true full time teacher so he went to Wentworth to get his graduate degree.
Once he got his degree and was a real teacher he worked in a few different schools and none of them really fit Munyer and were where he felt he belonged until he found Lakeland.
Today Mr. Munyer is one of the many beloved teachers at Lakeland High School.
“I have the opportunity to be the teacher that I want to be, as opposed to the teachers that I was being taught by and grew up with,” Munyer said.
He stands in the hallways holding posters with encouraging quotes and strides into the gym ready to hype up any and every athlete he sees.
He is a light in many students’ lives as he helps the ones who are struggling in education or even in their personal lives.
“He cheers me up when I go to class and when you’re struggling with assignments he always encourages you to do good,” student Frankie Rate said, “he also gives me life advice when I need it.”
“I appreciate the teaching foundation he has instilled in me; I look up to him,” Para professional Mackenzie Smith said.
