George Hawkins

Tell us why you became a teacher

I was a practicing attorney and felt bogged down by the types of cases I had; I didn't feel like I was doing "good." I heard about a project based learning school that had an opening and thought I could do more good in the classroom than the courtroom. I applied for the job, was accepted, and have loved it ever since.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My second year teaching we had a student transfer in from another district. He had struggled with school but his parents wanted to give our school a try. The student looked like a deer in headlights the first week in our class but by the end of the year he was a leader within his groups and he was finding success in and out of the classroom. By the time this student graduate he was the speaker at our graduation. He went from hating school and wanting to drop out to leading his peers.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I've always wanted to set up a scholarship to help students in their academic achievements and thus I want to establish a scholarship to help students who are pursuing further education. But I'm not going lie, I would also use the money to help my family as well since this is life changing money. Thus, the money would be divided between setting up a scholarship and setting aside some for my son to help pay for his college.