Darryl Rankin Jr

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher so I could relate to young African Americans and give them other examples of success than what society and social media has created for them. I also became an educator simply to help teens navigate through life my sharing experiences, using my connections to create jobs and internships.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience was several years ago. I had a student who was always in trouble, in and out of school, and didn't have any self-esteem. I would always encourage him, help him thorough some assignments and eventually he came to me and said I know what I want to do. I want to design clothes. I literally modeled my Marketing class around clothes just to keep him engaged. That inspired him in other classes as well. We went from having 3 F's to all A's

What would you do with the $25,000?

Use it as a down payment on a new home for my wife Jacole and my daughter Jada! I teach in the state of North Carolina and currently we are the 2nd lowest paid teachers in America. We currently rent and would love to have a place to call our own and a place our daughter can always come home to.