Lisa Patterson

Tell us why you became a teacher

Honestly, great question. I can say that I'm not someone who always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I grew up babysitting, teaching swimming lessons, and being active in my community. I then went to college thinking I would be a business major, not realizing at the time that I enjoyed helping kids grow and learn new things. Quickly, the business route didn't feel right. I then reflected on my up bringing and realized where my passion truly was! And now I have 17 years in the books as a teacher:)

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I have so many examples, but one that sticks out has been with every class I've ever had. At the end of the year, when school is getting ready to be let out for the summer, it's when the students come up to me and give me a hug telling me that they'll miss me and that they liked my class. This is what truly lets me know that I've done my job. I've made connections, taught them to the best of my ability to be kind, empathetic, hard workers, and showing them that they truly matter in this world!

What would you do with the $25,000?

Oh man! I just couldn't imagine winning that much money, so it would be hard to decide! I have so many things running through my head on what I'd do with that money. I do know that I would pay off some debt, and I would put some into my kid's savings accounts. I do love to travel, so I definitely think I'd use some of it to take my family on a vacation! What an amazing opportunity this is to even think about winning this amount of money! I appreciate you thinking about teachers like this:)