By Macy Etters

Oh no, you’re in high school now. The question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” just became a lot harder to answer. You now have to think about college and what career would actually be a good fit for you. It seems like everyone’s got it all figured out, when in reality, not many people do. Even our own teachers didn’t always know what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Emily Hensley is currently an English teacher at Lincoln. Hensley grew up in a big family of teachers. Because of this, she says that during high school, she refused the idea of becoming a teacher for a long time, even though she knew that was her calling.

Hensley attended the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon.

“I didn’t realize how lonely it would feel in the beginning,” said Hensley.

Ever since she was a kid, she wanted to be an artist or an actor. When she finally accepted that she wanted to be a teacher, she decided that she would pursue a different career beforehand.

“When I was thinking about what path I was going to go into in college, [journalism] seemed like a natural career choice where I got to blend writing and creative outlet,” said Hensley.

After receiving her degree in journalism, she eventually worked for Oregon Home Magazine, The Jewish Review, and was the in-house graphic designer for the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.

“I think that having another career first has made me a better teacher,” said Hensley.