Anyone who takes Spanish in Sheyenne can tell you just how amazing the program is, lead by some of the most skilled staff at Sheyenne. Señor Mickelson is one such expert.
Señor Mickelson teaches both Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. His passion for teaching is very unique, as it is stemmed from an experience he had in Peru while taking a break from his criminal justice studies at North Dakota State University.
In Peru, Mickelson volunteered to help out the struggling education system. It was then that he realized that he wanted to pursue a career as a teacher.
From left to right: Host brother Edward, Señor Mickelson, host mother Udy, and Mickelson’s biological brother
“Spanish is just what I knew best, whatever I would’ve known best is what I would’ve gone to teach for,” Mickelson stated.
If he wasn’t teaching, Mickelson said his dream job would be “the guy that announces prizes for Wheel of Fortune.” He went on to explain that being a voice actor would be a fun job and require less knowledge than a sports commentator, for example.
Other things that he enjoys are watching the Detroit Lions, hunting, fishing, and blacksmithing. He said that blacksmithing is a new hobby, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the necessary tools on hand, he was able to make things by himself.
His ideal day includes hunting or fishing with his family and making it back in time to catch an afternoon Lions game (that hopefully results in a win over the Packers at Lambeau Field). After the football game, he loves a family dinner and be able to stay up as late as he wanted if there is no school on Monday.
“Then I don’t have to wake up at 5:30 or 5:45…Not saying that I don’t like school, I would just have to be responsible and go to bed at a reasonable time,” Mickelson continued.
One of his favorite memories was him finishing his schooling at NDSU. He had just completed his Capstone project for his senior thesis and presented it to the NDSU Department of Modern Languages. This marked the end of his studies with only student teaching left to complete before his final graduation.
Mickelson explained, “I just remember vividly feeling this enormous relief because you know, at that point I was 26 years old so. Most people graduate at 22 or 23 and it took me a little extra time so after all those years of not knowing what I wanted to do so I just felt like I had worked hard to get to that point so it felt amazing.”
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