12/19/25

By FHSU University Communications

HAYS, Kan. – When you ask a group of teachers why they chose this as their profession, there tends to be one consistent response. Nearly all will say they felt a calling to serve and were drawn to teaching because they wanted to create the kind of life-shaping transformations that happen when good teachers inspire, believe in, and push their students. December 2025 graduate Haylee Hafenstein exemplifies the characteristics of this kind of teacher.

Haylee has always known that she would become a teacher. “Everybody says teaching is a calling, but I truly feel like that's where God wants me to be.”

Haylee grew up in St. George, just outside of Manhattan. Her mom is a support specialist with the Wamego Police Department, and her dad is a welder at the Solar Turbines plant in Wamego. Neither of Haylee’s parents are college graduates, but both invested fully in supporting Haylee and her younger brother Cooper’s dreams of earning the college degree that would set them up for personal and professional success.

When it came time to choose a college, Haylee toured nearby Kansas State University and Emporia State University. “I thought K-State was just too big for me, so it really came down to Emporia State and Fort Hays State,” Haylee said. 

When Haylee visited FHSU, she knew this was the place she wanted to be.  She came to tour the campus with her best friend, and when they walked in the door of the Admissions Office, there were people excited to welcome them.

“FHSU immediately felt more like home than the other colleges I visited,” Haylee said.

Haylee’s faith has always served as the foundation of her values and the force that helped her make her life choices. By the spring of her freshman year, she began spending more time at the Comeau Catholic Campus Center, and it quickly became her home away from home.  A big part of why the Campus Center played this vital role in Haylee’s student experience was the support and mentorship of Father Andy Hammeke.

“Father Andy was amazing,” Haylee said. “He guided me through a lot of tough decisions about my academic choices and everything.”

Father Andy also played a key role in Haylee’s decision to pursue three majors at FHSU. While Haylee and a group of her fellow Catholic Tigers prepared for a trip to Spain, Haylee was struggling with a decision. Dr. Janet Stramel in the College of Education encouraged her to apply for the prestigious Robert Noyce Teacher’s Scholarship.

This scholarship program provides funding for school and additional stipends that Noyce Scholars can use to participate in educational, professional development, and networking experiences outside the classroom. The purpose of the Noyce Scholarship program is to prepare Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors to become the next generation of secondary school teachers.

Dr. Stramel recognized that Haylee had the potential to be an exceptional secondary math teacher. “As a former middle school math teacher, I saw early on that Haylee had a spark - a genuine love of mathematics paired with a natural way of connecting with kids,” Dr. Stramel said. “It was clear she wasn’t just good at math; she was meant to teach it.”

Haylee now had a decision to make, but it would need to wait until she had time to reflect, pray, and consult with Father Andy.  “I told Dr. Stramel that I planned to go to Spain and participate in the Camino De Santiago pilgrimage, and I would give her an answer when I returned,” Haylee said.

The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) pilgrimage is comprised of a historic system of ancient pilgrimage routes across Europe that lead to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. The annual pilgrimage honors the legacy of Apostle Saint James.

“This was the hardest thing I've ever done,” Haylee said. “I ended up having some problems with blood circulation, and my feet were pretty torn up by the end of the pilgrimage.”

While she was making the painful trek across Northern Spain, Haylee spent a lot of time thinking about her decision and leaning on Father Andy for support and guidance. One of her biggest concerns, one that had lingered with her since high school, was dealing with the financial burden that her college education would impose on her and her family.

She knew that the Noyce Scholarship might be the answer to her prayers, but she would be replacing her concern about finding the money for college with the challenge of finding the time to devote to what would now be an exhaustive course load. Haylee began her college experience as an elementary education major. But the Noyce Scholarship is dedicated to supporting future secondary (middle school and high school) STEM teachers. To earn a Noyce Scholarship, Haylee would have to add two additional majors: secondary education and something in a STEM field.

Haylee chose mathematics and secondary education as her second and third majors. “I love math, but I didn't know that at the time,” Haylee said. “I didn't know how much I loved math until I took Dr. Lanee Young’s elementary math class.”

Despite the demands of her now even more challenging academic schedule, Haylee made the most of her time as a student at FHSU. In addition to serving with the Campus Catholics organization, she was also involved in “Students for Life” group on campus. She also worked for four years at the front desk in the University Police Department. Haylee’s boss, UPD Administrative Specialist Michelle Tholen, admired how Haylee took charge when needed and remained calm in difficult situations.

One of those recurring difficult situations contributed immensely to Haylee mastering a life skill that should serve her well as a teacher. She learned how to communicate empathetically with people who were experiencing stress.

“I dealt with a lot of nasty phone calls from people who got pretty heated after getting a parking ticket,” Haylee said.

As she neared the end of her academic career at FHSU, Haylee began to consider her options for student teaching. Her plan had always been to return to the area around St. George for her student teaching experience. It was important to her to be close to her family and her boyfriend, Connor Richards, who is finishing his graduate degree at Kansas State. But then somebody at a career fair made her an offer she felt she couldn’t refuse.

At that event, Haylee met Deer Trail (Colorado) School District Superintendent Mike Jobman. He was standing by the door and saw that Haylee had “math” on her name tag, so he struck up a conversation with her. He asked her if she would ever come to Colorado, and she straight up said, “No.” She told him she didn’t like the idea of living somewhere where there is that much cold and the snow.

Haylee soon discovered that Superintendent Jobman was a skilled salesman. “Out there in Deer Trail, they say that Mike could sell water to a fish,” Haylee said. “They are right.”

Jobman told her about the successes that a previous FHSU Noyce Scholar, Grace Jenkins, was enjoying in his district. Haylee knew Grace from several classes at FHSU. Jobman then told her that if she came to Colorado, he would provide her with a “sponsored” student teaching position. Included in that sponsorship was discounted housing and fully paid utilities. Eventually, the ever-cost-conscious Haylee decided to complete her student teaching at a Deer Trail middle school.

Haylee works a four-day teaching week, so she made plans to travel back to campus to celebrate Commencement on December 12 with her family. After the Deer Trail School District decided to close early that week due to a rapidly spreading viral illness, she was able to make it back to campus for the College of Education’s first-ever pinning ceremony for newly licensed teachers on Friday, December 11, the day before Commencement.  

Still not sold on the prospect of starting her career in snowy and cold Colorado, Haylee plans to begin her teaching career back home in Kansas. She hopes to start graduate school in the summer and possibly become a professor after teaching for a while.

Congratulations to Haylee Hafenstein and to all of the December 2025 graduates of Fort Hays State University.