By Rachel Mergen
Prairie du Chien native Kayla Mezera has been the special education teacher in the Prairie du Chien School District since 1980, a career she dreamed about as a young child playing teacher.
Mezera attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to receive a degree in special education. She completed a master’s degree from Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minn. Her qualifications also include training in food therapy.
She found herself interested in the field after witnessing the strength of her sister and a childhood neighbor, who both faced handicaps.
“I was destined to come back here,” Mezera stated. She enjoyed growing up in the community, and her husband, who she met in college, was to take over his family’s local business Mezera Heating and Air Conditioning.