Mannford High School Hosts Oklahoma City Memorial Exhibit; Principal Shares Story Of Loss And Resilience

The morning routine at Mannford High School begins with tired teenagers greeted by a smiling Principal Kyle Genzer.

“It’s huge because a lot of our kids, it’s the first smile they see in the day,” Genzer said. “It’s huge to set the tone for the kids to have a great day.”

It’s a mindset he learned from his mom, who would wake him up for school every morning with a song.

He still remembers the words, even though Jamie Fialkowski Genzer hasn’t been able to sing them in nearly 30 years. She was killed on April 19th, 1995, in the Oklahoma City Bombing.

“I had to go from being a 14-year-old carefree to planning a funeral picking out my mom’s casket,” said Genzer.

Today, Genzer draws inspiration from a memento in his office: a piece of the building where his mother worked, which serves as a daily reminder to live life to the fullest and appreciate every blessing.

On Friday morning, he shared these memories and reminders with the Mannford Freshman class as part of the Oklahoma City Memorial and National Museum’s Journey of Hope.

Genzer shares his story for the freshman class each year, but on Friday, he was joined by his family, including his 14-year-old son.

When Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Genzer’s mother was working. “I was sitting in my second-hour reading class much like we are right now,” he recalled, describing the moment his uncle arrived with the news of an explosion.

Despite the sadness of his story, Genzer's message to his students is one of resilience. He feels his mom helped point him toward his career in education and when he ran the Oklahoma City marathon in her honor, he knew she was watching when his time matched the date of her death.

“But when I saw 4 hours and 19 minutes that was like my mom saying, 'Hey, thanks for doing this for me,'” said Genzer.

The touring of the memorial will continue to other counties, but the message will last with a sapling from the American Elm that survived the bombing planted on the lawn of Mannford High School.

As students covered the tree with dirt, Genzer felt his mom there too when he noticed a butterfly fluttering about.

His mom’s symbol is a monarch butterfly.