Tell us why you became a teacher

Teaching runs in my family. My mom was a teacher and when I was a little girl in Brazil, she bought me a blackboard. I used to gather my brother, my cousins, and friends to teach them lessons and help them with their homework. I grew up teaching others. I served as a missionary and taught others about the gospel. I studied English in UK then returned to Brazil to teach English. I became an American citizen with a Master's degree in TESOL and another mission: Teach English as a New Language!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Watching a group of English language learners with low self-steem, limited vocabulary, and speaking difficulties progress and become confident enough to write and present a project on biographies, and informational texts in front of their classmates. Their success becoming independent and confident learners is priceless.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would start cultural projects for my students, involving their parents and family. We all would learn more about each other's cultures and how we can be respectful American citizens and still keep our heritage and history. Field trips to museums and restaurants would be a must. A trip to Washington DC would also help my ENL students to comprehend our American history, unify our students and promote a patriotic spirit.