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Teresa Barnett
Teacher At Neithercut Elementary School
"I just love being able to teach our youth because you can really watch them grow."  That is what Teresa Barnett shared when asked why she enjoyed teaching so much, and as you talk with her, you begin to feel that passion come through in the way she explains her life story.

Teresa grew up in Flint and in the Flint Community Schools, and while she always entertained the idea of teaching, she ended up going to Eastern Michigan initially for accounting but would end up with a degree in health and administration.  This led her on a career path that started out at Hurley Medical Center for several years.  "I remember thinking, I've always wanted to be a teacher, why am I not doing that?" Teresa said.

She had grown up seeing her father, David Munerlyn, working at Flint Community Schools and always appreciated his dedication to students.  So over 25 years ago Teresa decided to change career paths and follow in her father's footsteps.  She went back to school, getting her teaching certificate from UM-Flint and then eventually a Master's from Oakland University.

When Teresa was first hired at Neithercut Elementary School, she was working with many familiar faces.  "Many of the teachers I had when I was in school were still there," she explained.  "The principal was the Assistant Principal at Northwestern when I was in high school."

Having spent over twenty years working with Flint's youth and their families, Teresa has seen first-hand the resources that they need most.  One program that has always stood out to Teresa is the Crim's SNAP-ed program PE-Nut, funded by the Michigan Fitness Foundation. In this program, teachers partner with the Crim Fitness Foundation to provide Physical Education & Nutrition to their scholars.  "The students have always enjoyed the program.  It presents food that they may not have experienced before in a fun way," Teresa explained.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed a lot in terms of how programming was delivered, but Teresa was not going to sit back idle and see her community struggle.  "When classes went virtual, Teresa was great about allowing us to be able to deliver nutrition programming virtually," shared Sam Farah, Nutrition Program Manager with the Crim Fitness Foundation.  "Her efforts to ensure her students continued to have access to critical nutrition information is just one example of how Teresa has continually gone above and beyond as a teacher."

Access to healthy food is one struggle that Teresa is trying to help her community overcome.  "People sometimes aren't aware of the resources available to them," Teresa said.  Over the course of last year, Teresa helped promote various food giveaway events that the Crim Fitness Foundation facilitated.  "They gave away a lot of good nutritious food.  I know many families benefited greatly from that."

After all this time teaching, she still loves every moment.  This is likely another quality that she gets from her father, since you will still find David coaching on the basketball court, even at 81 years young!  When Teresa does decide to spend a few moments for herself, she enjoys spending time with her husband or catching up on her reading, often diving into a book by Mary Higgins Clark.

The ability to achieve a healthier community is dependent on the support of community partners and there is no greater example of a community partner than Teresa Barnett.  We are grateful for her support and leadership in this effort, and her energy will pay dividends in our community for generations to come.
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