As a 19 year old I had the opportunity to coach a 9th grade football team. My job during games was to make sure I got everyone in to play and one young man, Tony, would wait to get hit and I worried about him getting hurt. I took him under my wing and he had one OUTSTANDING game where he knocked down everyone he hit. At the awards banquet, a man approached and told me that his son was a better man because I was a small part of his life. I changed my major the next day.

Every time I get a thank-you note from a former student, it reminds me why I teach. I have a folder full of them, but one stands out—a student in their 30s wrote about a day I simply asked if they were okay after missing class. I listened, showed empathy, and assured them I had their back. I had no idea that small moment saved their life. I'll never forget what I felt reading that note.

I would take $10,000 of that money to start a fund to build a young adult playground at the high school I currently work at. Then I would do everything I can to make sure that school is the first High School in the state of Michigan to get RECESS. We really need reevaluate what "instructional time" means and create pathways for our students to take based on their interests, rather than what the state decides. The rest I'll spend on my dream to become a famous screenwriter. ;-)