At Atherton, the Health Science pathway is preparing students to go into the medical field, and one of Atherton’s very own teachers proved that she is more than capable of teaching it.

Mrs. Harpole worked as a nurse from 1997 to 2021, working in 9 emergency rooms before becoming a teacher. During that time she saved a man by the name of Tom Payette.

Mr. Payette has become very well known, as he is Jack Harlow’s grandfather. Harlow himself is an Atherton Alumni, and seeing how a staff member here saved his life, he decided to come back and share his story. Payette came to Harpole’s classes on Tuesday, Feb 10 to speak to students. Payette told students about the time he had a medical emergency, where Mrs. Harpole was the one to save him, bringing him back to life. Since then, he has been eternally grateful to Mrs. Harpoole, and has been sharing his story to anyone who will listen.

“Having a patient whose life I helped save speak to my health science students is important because it makes the impact of our training real and shows them that the skills they are learning can truly save lives,” said Harpole.

Inviting Mr. Payette back to Atherton to share his story showed the Medical Pathway students that you never know who you might encounter through your work, and that dedication to saving lives truly makes a difference.