There are some teachers that know at an early age that they want to be educators.

They have the dream and desire of impacting the lives of students in a positive way. There are others that become teachers and enjoy it but it may not have been their first career choice. Jake Henderson would be a teacher that falls in the second category.

“I don’t think I actually decided to be an educator until the first time I stood in front of a class,” Henderson said. “As a History major in college, I had taken the “education” component just as a precaution, to give me more potential job opportunities, but I had never seriously considered “teaching” as something I wanted to do long term. However, when I did my student teaching, from the moment I stepped in front of a class for the first time, it just felt like the most natural thing in the world, so I decided to stick with it.”

Jake is in his nineteenth year of teaching. He currently teaches Government and Psychology at Woodward High School. Previously, he taught at Alva High School, Reydon Middle and High Schools, and Enid High School.

While he did not set out to be a teacher, there have been a number of educators that have been influential in Henderson’s life.

“My mom was a second-grade teacher, so that’s an easy place to start with people who have impacted my life,” he said. “My aunt was also a high school librarian, and she had a big impact on my life as well. Other than that, I give a lot of credit to my eighth-grade U.S. History teacher, Mr. David Fischer, and my sophomore World History teacher, Mr. Dennis Allen, for helping me develop my interest in history.”

Along with teaching, Jake is also a published author, with five books to his name.

“I have written two historical fiction novels, Ryan’s Crossing and Original Spin. The other three, the Radio Road series, are written for younger readers.”