Catherine Fung, an English teacher at Lick-Wilmerding High School, is saying goodbye to Ocean Avenue at the end of this semester.
While growing up in the suburbs of San Jose, Fung spent a lot of time with her cousins and extended family. “It was nice to grow up in a place where I felt like there were a lot of people like me, you know, a lot of immigrant families and specifically Chinese American families,” she said.
Fung attended Prospect High School, and went on to receive her undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles as an English major. Fung first took an English class to fulfill a general education credits requirement, but quickly became passionate, taking classes such as African American literature and Asian American literature. “The English major allowed me to figure out who I was and what I care about,” she explained.
After receiving a PhD in English at UC Davis, Fung became a university professor in Massachusetts. “I wasn’t particularly happy out there. I could tell that I didn’t want to live in Massachusetts my whole life,” said Fung. LWHS history teacher Dr. Shaun Lopez recommended her for an opening in the English faculty at the school. When Fung visited LWHS, she was offered a position and soon after took the job. She moved back to the Bay Area where she has built a family with her husband and her now one-year-old son.
Beyond the English classroom, Dr. Fung has been involved in various causes over her seven years at LWHS. She is not only an extraordinary scholar and a brilliant teacher, but an activist for social justice — examples include being involved in the Ethnic Studies Working Group, teaching climate change lessons and guiding social justice walkouts. “I think those have been the most fun and also the most gratifying. A lot of teachers go into this profession because we want to work with young people to build a better future,” she said.
In the past, Fung has enjoyed engaging in acrobatics and earning a black belt in Taekwondo. She also loves making costumes and participating in performing arts, such as piano and choir.
Fung has appreciated opportunities to bond with her colleagues in the English department, and will miss the nurturing environment both her peers and students provide. “The students are a lot of fun to teach and it’s always exciting to see what they do with what I offer… I definitely am a much better teacher now. I’m a lot more invested in interacting with students in a meaningful way, and more careful about how I put together lesson plans,” she said.
In the next stage of her life, Fung plans to spend more time with her family and rekindle old passions, especially writing. While not entirely certain about what her future entails, Fung plans to maintain some capacity of her career in education, either by teaching a couple classes at the community college level or expanding on her past experience in consulting work.
“I’m actually looking forward to not actually having specific plans because I feel like at this time in my life, I just want a little bit of a break,” Fung said. “I’m just kind of excited about the unknown, to just see what’s possible.”
photo by Odin Marin
