by Emmalynn Champ, staff writer
OCTOBER 2023 — Many ninth grade students were anticipating their first engineering class coming into freshman year, and Michael Schimpf, their new engineering teacher, has made sure to make his classes fun and interactive.
“He’s really funny and is a great teacher who tries to make his classes enjoyable. There’s never a boring moment in his class,” freshman Ares Miller said.
Schimpf is Bio-Med Science Academy’s new ninth and 12th grade engineering teacher. While new to teaching, he is very glad to start his teaching career at Bio-Med and is eager to see what’s to come with this new opportunity.
“The mastery scale takes a little getting used to, but I like that Bio-Med doesn’t use a traditional grading system,” he said. “What I really love about this school, though, is how supportive the whole staff is, especially my team. All the freshman teachers have been very welcoming.”
Schimpf grew up in Painesville, Ohio with his parents and younger sister. While attending Riverside High School, he was very interested in architecture, which slowly transitioned into an interest in mechanical engineering.
His original plan was to go to college, but didn’t think it was the right time nor did he have the financial ability to pay for it. This influenced his decision to enlist in the Air Force his senior year of high school.
He is very grateful that he enlisted, crediting it with many positive events that have happened in his life.
“[My time in the Air Force] was very fulfilling. I got to see a lot of the world, I made a lot of friends, and I learned how to work with people I liked and didn’t like,” Schimpf said.
He spent most of his time while serving at Dyess Air Force Base in Taylor County, Texas. He was also stationed in Diego Garcia, Guam, Korea, and Qatar.
After retiring from the Air Force, Schimpf completed his degree in Applied Engineering and Technology Management from Kent State University. Schimpf was encouraged to go to school for engineering because of his time in the Air Force maintaining and troubleshooting aircraft.
Once he graduated, he held multiple jobs in the engineering field.
One job he had was working for The K Company, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) business. While working there, he installed many HVAC systems, including Bio-Med’s during the expansion of the Rootstown Campus.
“I really wasn’t happy with my career at the time, so I started looking for something new,” Schimpf said. “I looked up engineering jobs on Linkedin and the job for Bio-Med’s engineering teacher popped up.”
Though he had never considered teaching as a profession, he realized it was something he thoroughly enjoyed.
“I’ve always liked showing people how to do things, and when I was serving, I was an instructor, and I found out that it was something I really liked,” he said.
During his time in the military, Schimpf received a piece of advice on teaching that he said he will never forget.
“One of my first supervisors told me, ‘Always train yourself out of a job,’ meaning you teach people what you want them to know to help them advance. The goal is to make people better than even you,” he said.
He is currently working on earning his Career Technical Education (CTE) license.
Schimpf learned much from his professional career and grew to value hard work, something he learned from his grandfather, a World War II army veteran.
“[My grandfather] was a hard worker. He became a lineman at a factory after returning from the war, but he always kept a really good work ethic and was very good at fixing and creating things,” he said.
Schimpf has faced multiple challenges throughout his life, including experiencing hearing loss from spending extended time around jet engines.
“I’ve learned to overcome adversity by adapting and overcoming,” Schimpf said. “Over the years, you realize that everything is some kind of adversity, nothing is perfect, and you have to figure out how to tackle anything that comes your way. You have to learn how to be flexible.”
Many of Schimpf’s students have openly appreciated the flexibility and effort he puts into his classes.
Sydney Schoenbaechler, a freshman, especially appreciates his teaching style.
“He explains things very well and has very good, interactive lessons,” Schoenbaechler said. “He understands that some students learn by doing, and instead of just having us do worksheets, we do more hands-on assignments.”
While many students are enjoying his class, Schimpf has loved teaching a new generation of children.
“I love interacting with the kids. They’re all so different, and I’ve dealt with a lot of different people in my life, but it’s a whole new generation. It’s especially cool to see all of [them] together and how [they] interact with each other and to the class,” he added.
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