Human Interest Ind. Kindergarten Teacher Saves Choking Student's Life: 'My Training Served Me Well' Chene Hunt was only on her third day at Pleasant Ridge Elementary when she performed the Heimlich maneuver on 5-year-old Fallen Coleman By Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein Twitter Joelle Goldstein is a TV Staff Editor for PEOPLE Digital. She has been with the brand for five years, beginning her time as a digital news writer, where she covered everything from entertainment news to crime stories and royal tours. Since then, she has worked as a writer-reporter on the Human Interest team and an associate editor on the TV team. In her current role, Joelle oversees all things TV and enjoys being able to say she has to watch The Kardashians, Dancing with the Stars and America's Got Talent for "work". Prior to joining PEOPLE, Joelle was employed at The Hollywood Reporter. She graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Television-Radio (and an appearance in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Final Four!) People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 17, 2021 01:56 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos An Indiana kindergarten teacher is being praised as a hero after her medical knowledge and quick thinking saved the life of a 5-year-old student. It was only three days into Chene Hunt's new job at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School in Charlestown when she noticed Fallen Coleman choking at lunch last month, CBS affiliate WLKY reported. "I looked at her, her lips started turning blue and that's when I knew she was choking," Hunt, a former emergency room technician for 18 years, recalled to the outlet. The teacher immediately jumped into action, rushing to Fallen's side in the cafeteria before performing life-saving measures in front of her other 25 students, according to WLKY. "It was hard to breathe," Fallen explained to the outlet of the moment. "She started helping me. She gave me the Heimlich maneuver." Substitute Teacher Hailed as Hero for Saving Students During New Mexico High School Shooting Following the frightening incident, a shaken-up Fallen was taken to the nurse's office, WLKY reported. There, school officials called her parents to inform them of the situation. "My heart just dropped to my stomach and it just scared me," Fallen's dad, Dustin Coleman, told the outlet. "But I was glad to hear she was okay. They were quick enough to relay that to me." Added Fallen: "They said, 'Oh my gosh, that's so scary!' " RELATED VIDEO: Teen Saves Fellow Student from Choking on a Cheese Curd Using Heimlich Maneuver Dustin and his wife Shawna later made a trip to the elementary school, where they met Hunt and expressed their gratitude for her heroic actions, according to the outlet. "It was scary but I'm glad my training served me well," Hunt told the Colemans, as shown in WLKY's footage. "It also served [Fallen] well." On Thursday, Pleasant Ridge Elementary School addressed the incident in a post on Twitter and commended the kindergarten teacher once again. "We are so proud of Chene!" they wrote.