“I’m a big supporter of high fives and thumbs up. Happy dances are awesome,” Michael Ferguson said.

After breaking his ankle in his freshman year of high school, Ferguson had to find something competitive to do other than basketball. He decided to participate in speech and debate.

“At first it was a creative outlet and a way to meet girls from other schools. But I realized that the ability to put on another person’s personality for a few minutes at a time was really striking.” Because his high school didn’t have a drama program, Ferguson had his first real experience in a theater at OU.

“That was when I fell in love with the world of acting.”

Teaching was not his goal, but he knew it was a possibility.

“Being a teacher was kind of always in the back of my mind. I still think of myself as an actor, or comedian, or director, but because of what education was able to do for me, I always felt like I wanted to be able to do that for other people. I wanted to give back and show others how education can help them better their circumstances,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson spent last school year at Harding Fine Arts Academy in the history department. He said the two Hardings are different, yet similar in many ways. He is still in the same building as his wife, HCP English teacher Cherith Ferguson, which he considers a bonus.

“I see Mrs. Ferguson just about as often as I saw her working at Fine Arts. It is really cool to share in the camaraderie that we’re on the same team. I could always tell that she felt very proud of working at HCP. [The students] have an extra drive within them to succeed,” he said.

Outside of school, Ferguson enjoys cooking and spending time with his six month old daughter.

“She’s kind of a full time hobby, keeping her alive. But it’s really cool seeing her grow up and spending time with her.”

When he’s not spending time with his daughter, he spends his free time watching YouTube.

“I have citizenship in the kingdom of nerdfighteria.” A nerdfighter is a fan of YouTube sensations The Vlog Brothers, but the ideas of nerdfighteria often go beyond watching videos. The mission statement of the fandom is “Don’t Forget to Be Awesome.”

“DFTBA is my personal motto. I like to stay focused on what’s positive and what it helpful to others. People get afraid to do things that make them stand out. Being unapologetically enthusiastic about something they love is being awesome. I give it 100% percent of my effort and I expect the same from my students. You have to be given a safe space to fail and be picked back up,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson looks forward to a bright school year.

“I truly believe that this is my dream job at my dream school. It holds a very dear place in my heart what drama and speech and debate have done for me. If it can do a fraction of that for my students then it’s absolutely worth it.”