My Linh Tran

Tell us why you became a teacher

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a teacher. I’d play school by myself with a little chalkboard everyday after school. I’d repeat what I remember my teacher doing in front of my stuffed toys. I just loved learning and helping others.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

It was my second year of teaching. My previous experiences were mostly with older children, but this year I was assigned a first grade class. I was nervous about teaching these kids how to read and write sentences. Of course I stumbled, but by the end of the year, all my students were readers. We learned together and it was all of our successes.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Honestly, I’d probably donate it all to my school. We don’t have a lot of funds for educational assemblies. It’d be great to have an assembly about social media and how to navigate it responsibly, especially with all the negativity we see online now. The schools are where the money is most needed.