I became a teacher after working in the private sector as an engineer and feeling dissatisfied with my impact on the world around me. I thrive on socialization and reaching others, and when a friend of a friend told me there was an opening in a school district in an 8th grade math classroom, I jumped at it. That first year of teaching in the '20-'21 school year changed my life, and made me a forever educator.

One of my most memorable teaching experiences was when my team and I coordinated a massive event at my current school with all the Algebra 1 students. Working in a technical school, where students have a trade and go to shop classes & academic classes, my math team and I wanted to design a project that melded the two. Around the holiday season, the students all built gingerbread houses that had ADA-accessible ramps for the gingerbread men, combining our lesson of slope and building construction.

If I were lucky enough to win the $25,000, I would use it to further my own education to obtain a PhD in mathematics education, so that I can instruct future math educators to have a long-lasting effect on math education. I am passionate about making mathematics accessible and equitable for all. I would pursue instructing at the college-level to best prepare future math educators with the resources and tools I have, creating a ripple effect in how we teach mathematics with a more just lens.