On the 100^th day of kindergarten, Katie Henkel lined up her 19 students at Holy Cross School in Mendota, decked out in their best 100-year-olds’ clothes, and sat down to try and name all of her students.

The twist: she was going to do it backwards, based on the sound of their voice saying, “Hi, Mrs. Henkel!”

“She got it right away,” said a surprised Charlie Prescott.

“I already knew she was going to get my name,” said Randy Fox. “I was still kind of impressed.”

The video of Henkel and her kindergarten students went viral across multiple social media platforms.

“I was absolutely surprised by the reaction,” Henkel said. “My sister contacted me, I had people from high school texting me, people were messaging my parents ... It was unbelievable.”

Henkel grew up in Dimmick and has been a teacher for four years, all at Holy Cross of Mendota. Her first year was as a fourth-grade teacher and the past three in akindergarten classroom.

“I love the little kids. They’re just so innocent and honest,” she said. “I just know that they need to know they’re safe and they’re loved, and I want them to enjoy school. So that’s kind of why I wanted kindergarten.”

Henkel and her husband live outside of West Brooklyn with their three kids, All of whom have or do attend Holy Cross School.

Henkel took a winding path to get to Holy Cross.

Before she was a teacher, Henkel attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Lake Land College in Mattoon. She was a dental hygienist for 15 years and used that experience to get a teaching job at Illinois Valley Community College in the dental assisting program.

Then a door opened for Henkel to move into teaching at Holy Cross School.

“I had a friend who was going back to school to become a teacher and that’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I was kind of like, you know what, this will be great,” Henkel said.

She did an online alternative teacher certification program through the University of West Florida and then took an opportunity at Holy Cross.

“I love the littles. Watching them come in and some of them don’t even know how to hold a pencil, and then seeing them leaving here and being able to read is just awesome,” Henkel said. “To watch them not even know the alphabet, to being able to read and sound out words is so exciting for me. And to see them excited about it is awesome.”

The learning is not just happening for the students, though. Henkel said that her students teach her a lot as well. She credits them with teaching her patience (lots and lots of patience) and not take life too seriously.

“For kids, it’s not a lot, but they just want to be noticed. Getting that little bit out of it and getting them all just to listen can be a challenge,” she said.

While Henkel said that applies to teaching kindergarteners, she also thinks it’s a challenge for teaching writ large.

“Teaching is really hard,” she said. “Putting out a fire here, putting out a fire there. They’re struggling, you’re helping them. There’s a lot on these teachers now.”

Henkel said she appreciates the support she receives from other teachers at Holy Cross and from her students’ parents to help her deal with the struggles of teaching.

“I just want people to know that it is a lot, teachers really do a lot, but they love the kids,” she said. “We are here because we want them to succeed.”