Sometimes, all it takes is one person to see something in you that you did not see in yourself. That is the story of Micah (Mueggenborg) Hensley and the unexpected path that led her to a career in education.
Micah grew up in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, surrounded by the close-knit community she still calls home. She graduated from Kingfisher High School in 2016 and went on to Oklahoma State University, earning her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2020 with an Early Childhood endorsement.
Teaching was not always part of Micah’s plan. Growing up deeply involved in agriculture through FFA, livestock judging, and parliamentary procedure, she assumed she would pursue a career in that field. When she started college, she enrolled as an Animal Science major. During her senior year of high school, however, she worked as an aide at Gilmour Elementary for Mrs. Tammy Themer, and that experience changed everything.
Mrs. Themer noticed how naturally Micah connected with students and encouraged her to consider education. Although intrigued, Micah was not completely convinced. Once she began her Animal Science courses, though, she realized her heart belonged elsewhere. She changed her major to Elementary Education, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Micah began her teaching journey at Highland Park Elementary, completing her student teaching in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a challenging start that taught her flexibility, creativity, and the importance of connection. She then taught first grade there during the 2020–2021 school year.
In the fall of 2021, Micah joined Kingfisher Public Schools as a kindergarten teacher at Gilmour Elementary School. She loved working with her “littles,” students full of curiosity and joy who, as she says, “think their teachers have hung the moon.” A year later, in 2022, she transitioned into her current role as Gilmour Reading Specialist, helping students develop a lifelong love of reading.
Micah continued to grow professionally, earning her master’s degree in Reading and Literacy from Oklahoma State University in 2023. This year marks her sixth year of teaching and her fifth at KPS. Her favorite part of the job is witnessing that “lightbulb moment” when her students learn to read and see themselves as readers for the first time.
Outside the classroom, Micah’s life is full of joy and motion. She married her husband, Kyler Hensley, in August 2023. Kyler grew up in Mooreland, a small town east of Woodward, and now works as a physical therapist at Mercy Hospital. Micah often jokes that although she has lived in Kingfisher her entire life, Kyler somehow knows more people around town than she does. Together, they share a one-and-a-half-year-old son, Holden, who keeps them on their toes.
When she is not teaching or chasing her toddler, Micah enjoys spending time with her family and cheering alongside Kyler during college and NFL football season.
From a high school aide uncertain about her future to a reading specialist shaping young minds, Micah’s story shows that sometimes it only takes one person, like Mrs. Tammy Themer, to recognize your potential and encourage you to follow it.
