Connect Tell us why you became a teacher

I'm currently in my second year as a special education teacher, teaching on a waiver after witnessing a teacher that consistently treated students inhumanely and didn't believe that they were capable of learning. I didn't want to see that classroom experience another year of teaching like that and worked furiously over the summer to gain credits in a Master's program that would enable me to step up and teach the class.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Working with a student with multiple disabilities and severe hearing loss to teach them ASL, social norms, and social emotional awareness and seeing it finally start coming together for the student has given me great joy!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would use funds to help my adult daughter find better healthcare that can better assist her in finding answers to her illness. I would also put a good amount of money towards fixing my home foundation and drainage around my home to finally appropriately fix the flooding issue that has been a consistent issue over the last 12 years.