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David Janning

#CStateChampions | Tuesday, July 14, 2020

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Whether he's a student or a teacher, David Janning is bringing the experience from two deployments fighting COVID-19 back to the classroom.

Janning graduated Columbus State Community College with an associate degree in Emergency Medical Services/Fire Science in 2011, and has taught in that department for seven years. He's also currently a student in the RN Nursing Associate Degree program.

So, when the pandemic started, Janning knew that he had skills that could be useful. He reached out to a company recruiting for health care professionals to work in COVID-19 hot spots. Janning took a brief sabbatical from his studies and teaching and immediately went down South with 50 pounds of medical supplies for his first deployment.

“When we can say, ‘Not only are we are teaching this, we are living it,’ it makes teaching that much more effective,” Janning says.

On April 8, Janning went to work for Response Systems in a pop-up medical facility set up at a city convention center with over 1,000 patient beds. Janning and his team were responsible for transporting patients across the mile-long facility and providing medical help using the Incident Command System (ICS) format.

Because of his teaching and field experience, Janning was asked to create an orientation pack assimilating new workers to the operation and supervise the team. In the first week, he worked 160 hours and continued to work daily 12-hour shifts for the next eight weeks.

His wife and children are his most significant supports, he says.

After two weeks home, Janning re-deployed, but this time to a different operation. For his second deployment, he worked as a line-level paramedic and shift supervisor providing immediate assistance to individuals quarantined at RV campsites.

When asked about his experience on his deployment, Janning mentions his favorite quote from Mike Tyson: “'Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face,’” he says. “That is how things work. You are doing something, your goal is something, and then you get punched. It’s adaptable and flexible.”

He is excited to get back to his teaching position at Columbus State, where he sees his own commitment to using his talent and skills for good reflected in his students.

“What I enjoy about teaching is seeing these students come in with such passion and fervor,” Janning says. “It keeps me grounded in how I felt when I got involved in my program as a student.”