Michelle Hazelip is the new Sophomore Seminar teacher here at HCP. Although this is Hazelip’s first year here, she is not new to teaching.

She grew up in Owasso, Oklahoma and played basketball all her four years in high school. Hazelip graduated from Owasso High school and began her college life at OSU. She continued to play college basketball and then graduated with a master’s in administration and education.   

“My whole family were teachers,” Hazelip said.  

She grew up in a teaching household. Her mom, two sisters, grandma and aunts were all teachers. Hazelip saw them as her inspiration to become a teacher, but she wanted to try something different.   

Hazelip wanted to teach a subject she enjoys teaching and that her students would love. She tries to keep her teaching fun and give out short chunks of information to not stay on the same subject for long. The way she would describe her teaching is “outside the box.”  She wants kids to interact, to come out their shell, show their personality and make it fun for everyone. She loves the subject matter Sophomore Seminar brings. Hazelip can get all the points a sophomore should know to be ready for the next grade.  

“I get the opportunity to help sophomores learn, laugh, and hopefully like school a little more.” Hazelip said.  

After college,  Hazelip went straight to teaching. She’s been teaching for 29 years. She has taught in Alabama, Texas and England. While she was in England, Hazelip would travel around with the U.S Air Force base teams and was a personal trainer.  

Outside of teaching, Hazelip is outgoing. She loves hiking, lifting, hanging out with family and especially traveling. Hazelip was invited once to go to Uganda to help kids at an orphanage. She went as a teacher with a team. She said she had the greatest time being able to help children learn new things. Her perspective on everything changed in an instant. She is grateful to have taken a big opportunity and hopefully impacted on a child’s life as much as it did for her.  

“Uganda was my favorite,” she said. “It was an impact and changed my view for everything.

This school year, Hazelip hopes to do the same for any student. Her goal is to get her students to walk out changed and know who they are. She hopes to bring her positivity into someone else’s day and get them to where they want to be.  

“Teaching is not always about the lesson plan, it’s about how kids enjoy the class,” Hazelip said.