No matter your grade level, there’s a huge chance you know Mrs. Wilken, whether it be as a student in one of her classes or a member of one of the many clubs she runs. She teaches both Honors English 10 and AP Language & Composition, and runs Canyon High School’s chapter of National Honors Society, Fashion Club, and Book Club, which I’m a part of.

Personally, I’ve had her as a teacher for both my tenth and eleventh grade years, and I can say first-hand that my writing has improved drastically since I was put into her class. She’s a great teacher, and it’s no surprise why; she’s been dedicated to her craft since she was a 5-year-old girl: “I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old, and I’d even play teacher for fun,” she told me during an interview.

She continued on, telling me about the staggering amount of experience she holds. Mrs. Wilken taught from preschool up to high school and wrote an entire English curriculum for a private school at the age of 23 (which is incredibly young for such a feat).

She began teaching at Canyon in 2012, initially teaching both regular and honors English for ninth graders, but the year after, started teaching tenth and eleventh. Shortly after she began at Canyon, test scores skyrocketed—by 20%!

Mrs. Wilken’s incredible teaching talents are traced back to her impressive accomplishments: she has a Master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition, a BA in Liberal Studies, and an AA in Child Development. Not only that, but she’s a published poet, too!

After she told me about her history of teaching, she expressed her desires for the future, explaining, “My goals are to retire from this district when I’m 62, and teach Rhetoric and Composition at a University.” She explained that she also wanted to work on getting a doctorate and—hopefully—getting her desired teaching job at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Thank you for all your hard work, Mrs. Wilken!