Tell us why you became a teacher

Growing up I was always a little different. I later found that was due to undiagnosed ADHD. The classes I thrived the most in were the ones that had the ‘weird teacher’. I wanted to be that person and help my middle schoolers feel like they have a safe place to be ‘different’. As a SPED teacher I get to design lessons for specific students’ interests and needs which means I get to know my students very well. I love advocating for them so they can show just how amazing and brilliant they are!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I have a student that was failing all of their classes and didn’t have any friends. They have a processing disability and what most took as her not knowing was just her trying to process what was said. Nobody could get her to read. I shared one of my favorite graphic novels with her and for the first time she was excited about reading. She came back the next day and had read the whole thing. For the rest of the year she would keep bringing up the book almost every day! She even asked for more!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would love to say I would spend it all on myself but that wouldn’t be true. I would use some of it to get alternative seating for my classroom with enough for other teachers to borrow. For myself I would use it for crafting, LEGOs and all the Comic Cons. Finally I would take my (retired) teacher parents to DisneyWorld as they have always inspired me to be the best teacher (and human) possible.