Marine, Firefighter, Teacher: Mr. Carr Shares His Story

Mr. Carr worked as a wildlands firefighter after his service in the Marines and before becoming a math teacher.

Mr. Carr served in the Marines in Iraq.

By MMACHS Seniors Poppy Criswell, Paige Kreizenbeck, and Nova Kling

Our new math teacher at Meridian Medical Arts Charter School, Mr. Gabe Carr, has a rich history of military life, forest service work, and jujitsu.

Mr. Carr was raised in Arizona. Being active and being outdoors pushed him to join the Marine Corps.

“I wanted to do something out of high school, and I wanted to be challenged physically,” he shared. He spent five years in the Marine Corps, specifically in the infantry. Mr. Carr was able to consolidate his emotions to function as a Marine. This not only taught him resilience, but also how to work for what he has.

“After I got back from Iraq the only thing that kept running through my mind was you only live once, so you may as well go for it,” he said.

After his time served, he wanted to continue to challenge himself, and began to fight fires for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

“That was a lot of fun,” he explained, while also remembering the frustration of working for a large organization and how a lot of the men wanted to give more than they ever received. “We were able to create something special.”

However, due to his family needs he decided that he would need a more stable job. So, he started substituting. Inspired by this career path, Mr. Carr went back to college in order to get his teaching degree. Although he spent countless nights doing online courses on top of his work, he says that the most valuable thing he learned was after his schooling.

“What I ended up finding is the more that I learned about math and the more that I teach is the more it really makes sense to me, and the more fun it is when I see things from different angles and perspectives,” he explained.

After his first semester at MMACHS, Mr. Carr is feeling right at home.

“It's the culture, the energy, the vibe," he said. "There’s a lot of positivity and kindness. It's what really has impressed me the most while being here for the last four months.”

Outside of school, Mr. Carr loves to stay active whether it's going running on trails or skiing during the winter. He also loves Jiu Jitsu. Currently he is a blue belt, but he doesn't just enjoy it for the workout and the challenge. He also likes to meet other great people like him.

“I’ve got a lot to learn. I get to hang out with good people when I'm practicing it, and it's a really good workout. So that's what I focus on, not so much of the color of my belt.”