Metro Pre-K Teacher Sitting With Mrs. Obama For State of the Union

One of Oklahoma's Own will be center stage for President Obama's State of the Union address tonight in Washington, D.C.

Susan Bumgarner is a teacher from the metro. Susan will be a long way from her pre-K classroom Tuesday night. She'll be sitting with First Lady Michelle Obama for the President's Speech.

As an early education teacher, she'll be one of the guests there who would benefit from the President's policy proposals. Susan Bumgarner will soon have a lot to tell her students back in Oklahoma City.

"We have a picture of the Obama family on the wall in our classroom, and we often use it when we're talking about the alphabet," Bumgarner says, "'S' is for sisters. ‘O' is for Obama. ‘P' is for President."

She's on an elite guest list, sitting in the House Chamber as President Obama delivers the State of the Union. It started with a call from D.C. answering security questions, and she couldn't figure out why.

"'She said, ‘Michelle Obama has invited you to be in her box at the State of the Union address, to be a guest in her box,' and I just started crying," Bumgarner said.

President Obama will lay out policy proposals Tuesday night, and in the past he's used people in the chamber to represent whose lives they would affect.

Susan expects to hear the President talk about early education. She'd also like to talk with the First Lady.

"If I get a chance to speak with her, I'm going to tell her she's an inspiration to all of us in many different ways. I especially like what she's doing with children and health," Bumgarner said.

Most of all, she's proud to represent Oklahoma and be an advocate for educators.

"I'm so honored and so excited to be doing this," Bumgarner says, "I feel so fortunate."

On Wednesday, Susan will meet with Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Bumgarner has been a teacher for 20 years at Wilson Arts Integration Elementary in Oklahoma City.