Hannah Anderson

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I have a strong passion working with children with disabilities. My mom was an autism teacher for 42 years, and I always spent time in her classrooms doing art and music therapy. I followed that passion for undergrad and graduate school, and am now a center based autism teacher. I love celebrating with students and families goals, learning skills, and victories that help them navigate through life and social situations. I learn so much from my students everyday.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I am grateful for the past decade of teaching experiences. One that comes to mind is seeing a student of mine get up in front of an audience and share a short story. He had significant autism that led him to have a very difficult time navigating through social situations, handling impulse control and large emotions, amongst other things. Needless to say, getting in front of a crowd would be a very big deal. I had him for social skills/ functional skills. His family cried when he got up and read.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would expand my classroom resources (occupational therapy tools), plan field trips and collaborate with my coworkers. My students, who are nonverbal and with me all day, have many restrictions and I would love to provide more outside resources for them, and provide more sensory stimulation experiences in the classroom!