"When the campaign knew that he was coming to Las Vegas to talk to teachers they gave my name to the Chicago main office and they interviewed me over the phone," said Henrickson, who was inspired to become involved because of education related issues, "And then they invited me to attend the round table."
Meeting the President was "surreal," but Henrickson wanted to sound natural so she stuck to speaking about what she's passionate about -- ensuring her students have the space and resources they need for a high quality education.
"I remember that his daughter was 14 at the time, and I said 'Imagine there are 40 14-year-olds in one room and it's your job to teach them," Henrickson recalled, "And he said 'That's terrifying' with a laugh."
While she didn't get to meet the President during her trip to the White House, she did attend the press conference and get to "hang out" in the White House for a couple of hours. Henrickson and other guests were also treated to an acoustic set by Nate Ruess of the indie pop band "Fun.," got to the see the National Teacher of the Year presentation, and went on tours of the Blue, Red, and Green rooms.
"It was pretty much out of the blue that they invited me to the White House this year," Henrickson said. " I thought it was a joke at first."
At the end of the day, she was honored to have the opportunity to represent teachers across the country not only once, but twice.
Henrickson says she always knew she wanted to be a teacher and can't imagine doing anything else, except perhaps teaching other teachers, and she has some sage advice for current students looking to enter the classroom:
Please go into teaching with an open heart and open mind. There are good days and there are bad days teaching. Hopefully the good days outnumber the bad, but some years you live day-to-day until you get to May. (That's really why there are summer breaks, it's so that teachers don't go crazy!) On the bad days, you have to fall back on your original passion to teach, so if you don't start with that passion and heart, you'll burn yourself out.
Also, find someone who you can work with that inspires you and pushes you to be better. Whether it's the teacher across the hall or a professional development provider, find the person or people that push you to learn new things and make you not only a better teacher, but a better person.
Finding the perfect work/ life balance as a teacher is hard and I'm pretty sure no one ever feels like they have perfected it. In order to be in it for the long run, you need to figure out ways to not only "work hard," but "play hard," whether that's by going hiking (my favorite) or spending time with family and friends or whatever you find important. You have to find ways to recharge yourself or there's going to be no energy left for your students.
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