Kat Vaughn

Connect Tell us why you became a teacher

I come from a long line of educators so in part, teaching feels like a family duty to the world a bit. But more than that, seeing students and peers who didn’t get the confidence or passion from school due to poor experience, learning disabilities or circumstances pushed me to work hard to share my passion and love of learning in creative ways.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Hard to pick one experience that trumps them all. But I will say that my favorite sound is “OHHHHH!” and my students know this. When you are teaching someone who doesn’t understand a concept and you come at that concept in half a dozen ways in order to reach them. And in the last one they exclaim a gasp of comprehension? That is the best feeling to have.

What would you do with the $25,000?

With $25,000 I would be wise and cautious because that is the largest amount of money I’ve ever had in one sitting. I started my own tutoring business on top of being a teacher during the day. I have steadily grown that side hustle over five years and it is now blossoming and official. I think I would use the money to help develop that business so I could continue to help more students. I would also spend some of that money to support purchasing my very first home.