MUSTANG — Mike Mason, one of Mustang High School's two teachers of the year, is a larger-than-life, rough-around-the-edges anatomy teacher who hands out vertebrae on a string as hall passes.

He said his mottos for life come from the New Testament and The Grateful Dead.

For decades, he was also a girls soccer coach and cross-country coach. He's known by his athletes for lessons of loyalty, love and hard work, and his batches of brownies for winning teams are legendary.

He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the College of William and Mary. He came to Oklahoma looking for a career when the oil market was strong. From petroleum engineers, to the guys on the rig, to the immigrants who barely spoke English, Mason found he could communicate complex information to any of them.