Tell us why you became a teacher

I wanted to give children the support and love that I found in my own teachers as I was growing up. Some of the most amazing women gave me respect and believed in me. And I wanted to give that to children. I want to be a safe place to share their ideas, to make mistakes, and learn from them. I became a teacher to be that safe space.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience was about 6 years ago. It was after Christmas and we had learned all of the letters and sounds. We had been putting together and sounding out CVC words. We were sitting in the carpet reading over some words in a sentence when one of the girls in my class whispered “ I can read” in an incredulous voice. I said “ You’ve been reading for a while, did you just notice?” She looked so amazed. “Is that magic?” She asked. And I had to say yes, because that IS magic.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would take my mom to meet her father’s family that we just discovered on Ancestry DNA. That has been her biggest dream for 67 years, and I’d love to give her the gift of finding out where half of her DNA came from. Finding family, that’s a true gift.