Woman finds kindergarten teacher after 16-year search — to tell her she kept the promise she made to her as a child
'You truly deserve a superhero cape,' Ms. Fisher told Calyssa.
When she was five, Calyssa promised her kindergarten teacher she’d tell her when she graduated high school. Years passed, and life moved on, but she never forgot the promise. Now an adult, she decided to find that teacher — and let her know she kept her word. The story comes from Calyssa (@incandescentcalyssa), who posted a video on TikTok that has since reached 1.2 million people and has been liked by over 282k viewers. In her video, she looks back at a 2007 moment with her kindergarten teacher, Ms. Fisher, who told her to stay in touch after graduation.
@incandescentcalyssa 🥹❤️🩹 the student in me is healed!! #kindergartenteacher #mshoney #kindergarten #kindergartengraduation #graduation2023 #collegegrad #momcollegestudent #teenmom #viralmoments ♬ DtMF - Bad Bunny
As the years went by, Calyssa lost contact — she eventually graduated from UC Davis in 2023, this time as a mom, still thinking about the teacher who had encouraged her all those years ago. Determined to keep her promise and find her former teacher, she posted her story online, writing, "She told me when I graduated from Kindergarten to let her know when I graduate high school... never found her, and I want to find her and let her know that I not only graduated high school but, college and will graduate with my master's degree, with TWO babies."
The post went viral, gaining more than 3.4 million views and leading her to the person she’d been searching for. In the video, Calyssa shared that she’d finally found Ms. Fisher, whose full name is Mikako Fisher Hill. Their reunion happened over messages that were as emotional as they were unexpected. "Hi Calyssa! I knew it was you as soon as I clicked on your picture and saw your sweet face! I am so proud of you and your success. And you did it all while mothering! You’re just as amazing as you were in kindergarten," Ms. Fisher wrote. She recalled Calyssa as a "sweet and helpful young lady" who had always looked after her classmates — "the lil mama" of the class, as she put it.
The two also discovered that both had attended UC Davis as mothers. Ms. Fisher said she had her daughter while studying there years earlier and understood how difficult it was to balance motherhood and college life. "You truly deserve a superhero cape," she told Calyssa. Calyssa said in her video that she felt "healed and grateful," adding that she hoped her teacher could attend her master’s graduation someday.
Research has shown how much impact teachers and early mentors can have on a child’s future. A study by Harvard economists Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Jonah Rockoff found that students who had high-quality teachers in childhood were more likely to attend college, earn higher incomes, and build stable lives as adults. The researchers concluded that a single caring and effective teacher can influence not just academic outcomes, but long-term emotional and social well-being, the kind of effect Ms. Fisher clearly had on Calyssa.
The post brought waves of emotion from viewers who shared similar stories. @sarahsstory01 wrote, "She looks so young and was probably a scared young woman hoping to help her students, and you. In fact, proved she did help! Crying." @picantepecas added, "I’m 28 and last year I went to visit my preschool teacher along with my toddler. She was still in the same classroom. It was the best feeling ever." @ghostingali shared, "My 4th grade teacher left such a big impact on me, I invited her to my graduation. She couldn’t come but gave me a gift card with $50 in it and a rose."
You can follow Calyssa (@incandescentcalyssa) on TikTok for more personal content.
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