Tell us why you became a teacher

I have been teaching for 17 years and every year it’s been an amazing learning experience and opportunity to get better. I became an educator to help others excel in a topic I am passionate about, science. I love making a difference in a children’s lives. I feel that being a role model is key to help shape young adolescents into adopting key skills that can directly impact their work into becoming responsible citizens. I love mentoring and providing positive support in a learning environment.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

The most memorable experience is a struggling student that gains that moment to realizing they can understand topics with abstract meaning. A moment that I can reflect on is when students struggle with finding how these concepts relate in real world applications. I love showing them how science can impact their daily lifes and with applied knowledge they can solve anomalies through investigations. It truly is a wonderful moment when struggling learners love learning through investigation.

What would you do with the $25,000?

If I win, it can really help me as a struggling single parent with bills. Also, just daily purchases within my budget for teaching. Simple things for my students add up and my allocated budget of yearly expenses becomes wiped. This money can help with not only my budget but my allocating for my students when purchasing supplies in the classroom as well as buying incentives for students when there is reward days. It would be nice to be able to not to worry about bills and budgeting for my class.