Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher to inspire students like me. I wanted to show African American students that they can be scientists and they can learn and do well in STEM fields. When I was in college for biology, I had side jobs working with kids, as an after school teacher and tutor. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the children I’d encountered and wanted to continue working with kids. There’s so much more to teaching than a lesson and more to our kids than grades.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience is when my students threw me a birthday party after hearing of the passing of my grandfather just four days before my birthday. They surprised me with gifts, cakes and balloons and they made what I thought would be the worst birthday, the most memorable. I’ll never forget crying on my way to work that day, and how quickly those tears became smiles when I was with my kids.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I recently just had my first child, a baby girl. I would use part of the $25,000 as a down payment to get us into a home and the rest would be used to invest in her education. Education is one of the greatest gifts someone can give.