Dana Wrede

Tell us why you became a teacher

I had wonderful role models growing up. Both my grandmothers and both my aunts were teachers. I loved listening to them talk about teaching and how passionate they were about what they did. I love children and being a positive role model to them. I am the mother of two beautiful children that are my world. I teach first grade and understand the importance of those early years. I want to help children experience the wonder and joy of learning, and leading a virtuous life.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I will always remember my first year of teaching. The excitement of having my own classroom and leading an amazing group of children. I didn’t have a mentor teacher to guide me which made me rely on myself and reflect back on my student teaching experience. It was a great year and I will always be thankful for my teacher that taught me so many things that I still do today. Being a teacher is very rewarding and also a lot of hard work. Celebrating their achievements is a wonderful feeling.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would love to buy a home. I dream of having my own home and how proud I would be to accomplish that. I drive a car that is a 2008 and just turned 199,000 miles. I take wonderful care of her but I don’t know how many more miles she has left. I would also like to build my savings and feel comfortable that I have a savings to help me when I need it. My mother recently passed from ALS and I would make a donation to the ALS foundation to help continue their efforts to support other patients.