Preparing for her 10th year in the field, with seven of those spent with the Blanket ISD, Halye Mair now teaches first grade at Coggin Elementary.
“I work with the best team you can ask for and I love teaching first grade because they are so eager to learn,” Mair said. “They are also still at the age where they need lots of hugs, which is my favorite.”
A graduate of both Goldthwaite High School and Howard Payne University, Mair’s parents were both educators, which guided her toward her chosen profession.
“There are so many different reasons why I wanted to become a teacher, but my parents had a huge impact on my decision,” Mair said. “My dad is a retired superintendent, and my mom is a third grade teacher at Goldthwaite Elementary. Watching them with their students and the impact their students had on them growing up made me want the same thing. They instilled a love of teaching in me at an extremely young age.”
Mair’s parents weren’t the only educators who influenced her, however.
“I had a lot of teachers that I really loved, but there is one teacher in particular that stands out,” Mair said. “She was my sixth grade reading teacher, Ms. Milgilfrey, now Mrs. Mersinger. She never gave up on me and encouraged me daily. Her love and patience not just for me but for all of her students is something I still remember to this day.”
As for what she enjoys most about her job, Mair said, “The most rewarding part about teaching is when you see the look in a student’s eye when they understand something they have been struggling to get.”
Looking ahead to the not too distant future, Mair said, “I’m excited to meet my students this year and see my returning students in the hallways from last year. I’m also excited to start the year with my team as we have been preparing all summer to get ready for the upcoming school year.”
Halye is married to Brandon Mair, the youth pastor at Blanket First Baptist Church, and the couple have five children.
“Brandon is the most patient, loving, and supportive man I could ever ask for,” she said. “When we got married June 2017, I immediately became a bonus mom to three incredible kids: Hayden and Avery, who will be seniors, and Michaela who will be a freshman. We also have a 2-year-old, Shylah Mae, and an 8-month-old, Braelye. When we aren’t chasing our own kids, you can find us out and about at different events for our youth kids.”
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BrownwoodNews.com will highlight one Brown County educator per day in the month of July, based on nominations received on our Facebook page, for our Teacher Feature series.