Tell us why you became a teacher

It happened by chance. I was a chef and working crazy hours. I had two small children and suddenly found myself a single mom. I needed a job that matched their schedules and allowed me weekends with them, so I applied for a culinary arts teaching position. I got the job and here I am 16 years later! It’s been bumpy at times but I haven’t looked back!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

In my first teaching position, I worked at a career academy that had students from all of the local schools traveling there to take classes. Needless to say, there were a variety of different personalities, including a 6’6” young man they called Big James. The first time we made yeast bread. And he removed his loaf from the oven, he was beaming with excitement! He said look, chef, I made bread! I thought it only came in a bag from the store! I’ll never forget his face!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would take a trip with my husband, just the two of us. When we got married, we immediately became a family of 6 and alone time and travel were pretty much nil. Now that we are empty nesters, we work all the time and don’t make time to enjoy our alone time. I would also donate to help start a much needed homeless shelter in the county where I live. There are many that live under bridges or squat in empty houses. I’d like to help open a shelter and resource center for those in our area.