Ms. Diana Fuhrman did not set out to become a teacher, yet she has been teaching for almost 30 years. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Ms. Fuhrman graduated from Van Nuys High School before taking classes at the University of California Los Angeles and California State University Northridge. She received a degree in sports medicine, athletic training and physiology. With these degrees, Ms. Fuhrman first thought she’d work in the medical field. Then, she realized that she enjoyed working with students at her part-time job like being a TA. She got her teaching credentials from California Lutheran University in 1994, which was the same year that a science teacher position was open at Van Nuys. After applying and getting the job on campus, she has since been a part of the VNHS community as a teacher for 28 years teaching physiology.
1) What’s your favorite way to spend your day off?
I love sleeping. I love going to the beach and I wish it was closer. If we’re talking about nowadays, then my favorite way to spend it is watching my kids compete at their sports events. I really do enjoy that whether it be basketball, soccer or track. I just love watching them.
2) Would you rather eat a home-cooked meal or go out to eat at a restaurant?
I’m lucky that I have a mate who is an awesome cook, but there are meals that I really enjoy at restaurants and are tough to make at home. I think I still prefer most of the meals at home. My partner makes the best tacos. He just does a really great job on any meat dish like filet mignon. He made an Armenian dish called Lula and we’ve been eating that for the past couple of days.
3) Have you ever liked something and then changed your mind?
I have to think about that because there are different categories that this question can fall under. I used to love training because I loved the competition and that’s what kept me going, but now I want nothing to do with lifting weights. I also used to like cottage cheese and then it made me throw up so I didn’t eat it for another ten or fifteen years, but now I like to eat it with pineapple.
4) If you could have any exotic animal as a pet, what would it be and why?
I already have a couple. I’ve got a bearded dragon and a desert tortoise. I’ve always loved different primates but they get big and mean, especially chimpanzees. If I had a yard that could accommodate an exotic animal, then maybe a sloth. They crack me up because they move so slowly. They actually move so slowly that they have moss grow on their backs.
5) Which season is your favorite: summer, winter, fall or spring?
I don’t really have a favorite. During winter, I love wearing all my coats even though I didn’t really do that this year. During summer, I love hanging out at the beach and surfing. I’m honestly not crazy about spring because that’s allergy season. I’ll pick summer because we get to play and sleep in. I’m just like students because they’re looking forward to summer.
6) When you were a kid, did you eat the crusts on your sandwiches or not?
I eat the crusts on my sandwiches now, but I don’t think I ate the crusts when I was a kid. When I make sandwiches for my kids, I spread the peanut butter and jelly all the way out to the edges so that the bite with crust isn’t just dry bread. That could’ve been why I didn’t eat them when I was younger because my mom didn’t do that, so it’d just be a mouthful of dry bread.
7) What’s a song that you can’t help but dance to?
It’d probably be a Zumba song that I just can’t remember off the top of my head. There are so many songs though that I really, really like and unconsciously tap my foot to. Maybe something by Michael Jackson or David Bowie. There are so many songs that I like of theirs so I would just bop my head along even though that doesn’t really count as dancing.
8) If given the opportunity, would you go back in time and choose a different occupation than teaching?
I love teaching. I love the subject matter and inspiring kids. What most teachers really dislike now is where LAUSD has taken us and that’s my major complaint. It’s definitely not the same as when I first started teaching, but if I went back in time, then everything would change. I wouldn’t choose a different occupation because I know and enjoy teaching so I’m content.
