Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I had a fantastic instructor, Dr. Karl Roider, in college that made history and teaching come alive and feel accessible. I was a history major at the time and he showed me the importance of a good social science instructor.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

When I started out, I was teaching middle school and I had a student that was functionally illiterate; at the end of the semester, she wrote me a note about how my support for her lead to her finishing her first chapter book and how much she enjoyed reading it.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Pay off my few debts so that I could provide more for my family, my wife and I are both educators and the lack of pay makes of finances tighter than they should be.