Elgin teacher who saved life of fellow instructor gets prestigious award
Mike Gannon has never sought the limelight for his heroic actions that saved fellow Elgin High School teacher Carolyn Gilbert from a near fatal knife attack by a student.
In fact, the first and only time he talked publicly about those five minutes in January 2008 was with Gilbert's permission.
He wanted to continue to protect his friend.
"The only reason I'm talking to you now," Gannon, of Belvidere told the Daily Herald last spring, "Is because Carolyn has said it's all right."
The attack created a lasting bond between the already close teaching colleagues.
"I check in on her now and then," Gannon said Tuesday evening. "And most days, we walk in and out of school together."
On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced that Gannon is one of 23 recipients of the prestigious Carnegie Medal. The medal, along with a $5,000 grant, is given to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
What was not listed alongside Gannon's profile, or the description of his heroism, was who helped him net the award.
It was Gilbert.
Gilbert, of Bloomingdale, said Tuesday that she was contacted by the organization early this fall.
"They mailed me the form," she said simply. "It had a bunch of questions about where the accident happened, how it happened. I filled it out, and sent it back. ... That's great. He deserves it."
A little after 11 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2008, Gannon, a 22-year Elgin High teaching veteran, was letting students finish up a computer programming exam, several minutes after they were supposed to hand in their papers.
The self-professed "soft hearted" teacher should have left when the bell rang, but was letting his students take some extra time to finish up their work.
Then, Gannon heard a scream that made his stomach lurch.
Gannon told his students to stay put, and he went into the hallway to see what was going on. No one was there. He heard another scream and realized it was coming from the room next door -- Carolyn Gilbert's classroom.
Entering the room, it wasn't immediately clear who 16-year-old Angel Facio was attacking, having pinned his victim to the ground.
Gannon's first action was to get Facio to drop his knife and get off the woman. He backed the boy into a desk in the classroom and shouted at him not to move.
As he did so, the woman grabbed hold of him for support, pulling herself up and out of the room. He then realized it was Gilbert.
Gannon did as he'd been trained, hitting the room's red emergency button and calling the front office through the intercom.
Others arrived within seconds to help, and Gannon watched the school's police liaison officer handcuff Facio and take him away. Facio was later convicted of attempted murder in juvenile court.
Gilbert was taken to Sherman Hospital.
Throughout the ordeal, Gannon said he was never afraid that Facio would pick up the knife and begin attacking him, too.
He's never viewed his actions as heroic or extraordinary.
He's just thankful he got there in time.
"Occasionally you have nightmares. And it's always the same. It's me arriving too late. Too late," he said. "And you wake up and then you realize that didn't happen."
Director of External Affairs Doug Chambers said the organization annually investigates about 1,000 heroic acts that they hear about through daily Google searches of newspaper articles in the U.S. and Canada.
The organization specifically looks at life risk, and if the hero knowingly left a place of safety to help.
"Many are called. Few make it, if you will," Chambers said.
Gannon received a letter about the award from the foundation Monday.
"It was certainly a surprise and I'm sort of humbled by the whole thing."
He had no idea of Carolyn's role in his winning the award. "When I get to talk to her, I'm going to have to give her some trouble for this," he said. "She didn't say anything to me about it."
"God bless her, she's such a strong lady. She's a wonderful teacher and a mom. That's what I'm most proud of. What would the world be without her?" he said.
• Daily Herald photographer Chris Hankins contributed to this report
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