Born and raised in Minnesota, Mikaela Hagen now lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her family where she teaches middle school social studies. Her personal and professional interests include public schools, language learning, and migrations/the forces that shape them. Mikaela’s poetry has been published or is forthcoming in the Naugatuck River Review, Moon City Review, and Autumn Sky Daily.  She was the winner of the 2023 Margaret Reid Poetry Prize.