Author Spotlight
Megan Funkey
Q: Is there anything at Indian Hills that you implemented that you want to bring to East?
A: I think that we did a good job of changing the culture there to a positive culture and East already has a strong positive culture. We just want to try and make that even better. A great place to be.
Q: What is it like to be the principal at Shawnee Mission East?
A: For me it’s great because it’s neat to see all the older kids again, since the seniors were eighth graders my first year. I think that’s probably the best part, seeing them and then just seeing the juniors again. I think that’s probably the best part about it. Yeah, so the seniors were my first year, it will be neat at graduation, so that’s fun seeing all the people again, that’s what I enjoy.
Q: What does it mean to be a lancer to you?
A: Being loyal to the East community including kids, parents, teachers and just that sense of community that everybody gets along, having a positive spirit towards school, focus on academics, yet enjoy the high school years.
Q: How different is it from Indian Hills?
A: The kids are bigger and they can drive now, there are a lot more things to be involved in as a student at East than there was at Indian Hills. It was getting better when they added sports, but it’s not to the extent of East. If you want to be involved in something and you’re not then you’re not looking very hard because you can find a group for anybody here. I think that’s awesome.
Q: Which do you prefer?
A: I really enjoyed my time at middle school, but I started my first 19 years in the high school so I kind of missed that. So I’m excited to be back.
Q: What drew you into education?
A: Way back when, my first love was that I wanted to coach and so it was in means to be able to coach kids. When I was in college, in Manhattan, we coached some youth football teams for the fun of it, on the weekends and during the week. That kind of drew me into it and then I wanted to see what I needed to do to get into coaching and then that evolved into the teaching aspect of it.
Q: Are you from here originally?
A: Yes, I went to West (has a viking bobble head in his office).
Q: Do prefer being an administrator or a principal?
A: I like both. There’s lots of different responsibilities with both, the day goes by fast regardless of whether your teaching or an administrator. That’s a benefit of being at the high school and getting done at 2:40 because at middle school your not done until 3:45.
Q: What is your favorite dessert?
A: Ice Cream. Daiquiri Ice from Baskin Robins.
Q: What is your favorite reptile?
A: None. I don’t like snakes. I have a dog named Tucker and he’s a mix between a long-haired doxen and a shitzoo.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
A: Relax or just do some little things around the house.
Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: If you were in a meeting or something and someone started popping their knuckles for no reason, I guess that would be kind of annoying.
Q: What is your favorite movie of all time?
A: National Treasure.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: Not really, my hobby now will be going to watch you guys do things after school, you know, after school events, like musical plays, sports. I always like seeing you guys out there other than in the classroom, just competing and having a good time. I love doing that, I love doing that with my kids. My kids are older, I have two kids. I have one that’s out of school and another one that’s a junior at Arkansas, they went to Shawnee Mission Northwest.
Q: If you could go to any restaurant where would you go?
A: Hereford House, Q39 is pretty good too.
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