Tell us why you became a teacher

I had wanted to teach since I was in second grade because of one of my favorite teachers, Pam Grogan. I learned so much from her, including the art of patience. When I was in 4th grade, which is what I teach now, I actually had the opportunity to go work with kindergarteners at my school and help them with reading fluency and comprehension. In high school I was the president of the performing arts leadership team and I was able to lead ESE students at my school in songs and dance for concerts.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Wow, that is a tough one! This is my second year teaching, but something that always makes me emotional in a good way is seeing the success of my students. I have had the pleasure and reward of seeing my students grow, not only academically, but also as people. I have students that go home and tell their parents about my quirky ways of teaching, and outfits (especially my earrings) and I will often get requests to "twin" with my students, so that is always very special to me. :)

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would invest some of it in my classroom, but in all honesty, I would put the majority of it in savings. I love to travel, but I also want to start a fund for my future human children (I am currently a dog mom and I wouldn't trade it for anything). I want to teach all of my kids (my students included, of course) about the importance of saving and working smarter, not harder, to achieve the things we want most in life!