Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher in 2007 right after graduating from Kean University as an art and education major. As a youngster my mother's great aunt would send me shoe boxes filled with different brushes. It was a great addition to the art table that my mom set up for me. Every material possible to be free to create led me to the realization that I needed to be an art teacher.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

The most memorable teaching experience was the reaction on the student's faces when they learn that we could virtually travel through the Caves of Lascaux or on Google maps we could climb Mount Fuji when learning about Katsushika Hokusai And the great wave off kanagawa. Being able to virtually walk around Claude Monet's garden and showing them these places worthy of being inspired by.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I started a project where I paint around the world using Google maps as my guide. Starting in 2014 took me 10 years to paint scenes around the world from A to Z. Austria to Zambia. I would then send these paintings to small businesses located by the scene which I depicted. In hopes of them holding the painting up in front of the scene. I would teach my students in the classroom about these places around the world. I hope to one day visit these places in real life.