Connect Tell us why you became a teacher

I originally went to school to be a dance teacher. Dance was all I ever knew and it made the most sense in the beginning. However, I took one elementary education class that changed my whole life. That class showed me strengths and passions of mine that I didn't know existed. I realized how much I loved having one on one time with students tapping into their curiosity and stretching their minds. I found a love for teaching through inquiry and observing the world through child-like eyes.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

We were discussing interdependency between animals as well as our impacts as humans on the environment. I will never forget that group of students and how impacted they were by the realization the everything on our planet is so closely intertwined. One student said to me "I never realized how much every little thing we do matters." Later that day, during recess, I heard a group of students talking about how they wonder how many animals were relocated by fires in California. I won that day!

What would you do with the $25,000?

Our science lab needs some love! I would love to bless my school with a true stream table, supplies for real circuits, salt cubes for weathering and erosion examples, and a science teacher starter kit for each science teacher on campus. These would include safety gear, a burner, separating tools, various sediments, etc. The science teacher staples.