Micaela Sanchez, longtime secretary at Marietta High School, is leaving the office. But she’s just moving down the hall a few feet.
When the school year begins anew in August, Sanchez will be the Spanish teacher. It’s a move that she has long desired and worked for.
“I’m scared to death,” she admitted, “but I believe that God has wanted me to make this move for a while, and it finally happened. I’m praying for wisdom and guidance because I want to do a good job.”
Although the move is a short one – really just a few feet – the journey was anything but.
Sanchez attended Marietta High School and was set to graduate in 1992.
“Gabriel and I got married in 1991 and life happened. As soon as I knew I wasn’t going back to school, I earned my GED,” Sanchez said. “I’ve always told kids at school that I wish I had graduated, and I try to push them to graduate because I know how important it is.”
In 2000, Sanchez accepted the high school secretary’s position at MHS, and remained in there until June. For thousands of high school students and their families, she served as a sympathetic and listening ear, helping with everything from schedules to stomach aches, to say nothing of the support she provided for teachers.
In the spring semester of 2004, she began taking college classes at Murray State’s Ardmore campus.
“My original plan was to be an elementary teacher,” she explained. “I believe that’s where you can make the most impact. That’s how it was for me with my elementary teacher. But then I figured out that I didn’t have the patience for that, and I really started to like the high school kid.”
It was then that Sanchez, who was born in Mexico and came to America as a young child, set her sights on teaching upper-level Spanish classes.
Sanchez never took more than six credit hours per semester, which is a slow way to earn a degree, but she felt it was the only way she could be a college student.
“My girls were in school, and I had my evenings and summers. Education has always been super important to me, so I did it a little bit at a time,” remarked Sanchez. “I knew I had to take care of my family and my job, so I’d take one or two classes at a time.”
As the years passed, Sanchez continued to chip away. She eventually earned her associate’s degree from Murray and began taking classes from Southeastern to work on her bachelor’s degree. In the meantime, both of Sanchez’s daughters, Mariana and Aracely, graduated from Marietta High School and Mariana earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
“There were times when it seemed like I would never finish,” stated Sanchez. “Mariana was in first grade when I started, and she had earned a bachelor’s and a doctorate long before I finished. But that’s how it had to be. My priority was raising my children. I worried about me second.”
The only time that Sanchez ever even took a break was when COVID took her mother.
“There were so many times that I wanted to quit and forget about it,” she said, “but I never allowed myself to stop until my mom passed in February of 2021. I just couldn’t keep going and had to take a little break.”
Her break was short, and encouraged by her husband Gabriel, Sanchez was soon back to being a part-time student. In December 2022, the fruition of a dream almost 20 years in the making was tarnished by the loss of her father.
“I finally earned my degree last December, but instead of going to graduation, I spent that evening in the hospital with my dad,” Sanchez said.
Her father passed soon after. After losing a child in Mexico to a preventable illness and death, Sanchez’s parents, Secilio and Josefina Salas had brought Sanchez and her sister to America seeking a better quality of life and more opportunities for their family. Sanchez credits her parents for many things, but most especially for teaching her the importance of education and a strong work ethic.
“My parents made so many sacrifices to bring us here so that we could have better lives than they did in Mexico,” remarked Sanchez, “and I know they would be proud of me.”
In the spring semester, Sanchez was offered the position of teaching Spanish, truly her dream job, which she accepted. Now, after finishing her secretarial duties, for the first time since 1991, she’s taking a summer break.
“Getting to be a teacher isn't easy, but now I’m here, and I’m trying to prepare myself for it,” she explained. “I’m looking forward to it. As a secretary, I always told myself that if I could make a difference in a kid’s life, it’ll be worth it. As a teacher, I feel the same.”
Sanchez is depending on a support system of fellow teachers to help her learn as she goes.
“Through the years at Marietta, I’ve worked with so many wonderful teachers, and several of them are still here,” she said. “I look at Mrs. Faulkenberry and Mr. Shumaker and others, and I see the impact that they’ve made and how long they’ve lasted, and that’s the kind of teacher I want to be.”
Sanchez, who just turned 50, may be more seasoned than many beginning teachers, but let’s face it: she’s not exactly new to the profession. She’s been a part of the educational system for over 20 years. Far better than people half her age, she already has a better understanding of commitment, dedication, and the importance of hard work. And if anyone understands tenacity, she does.
“I’ve seen how hard it is, and I don’t know how long I’ll teach, but I hope for several years,” she said. “I just know that I don’t plan to give up. I know I can’t help every student, but I can help some.”