Vanessa Kutscha

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I wanted kids to know that they mattered. When I was younger, my school life wasn't so great because I experienced a lot of trauma and I am half deaf which requires me to wear hearing aides so my journey wasn't the easiest. I now use my past trauma to help others understand theirs because I had those teachers in my life as well and that is how I got through school. I want to be the light in their darkness even if they don't give me details so they can feel empowered.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

There are have been many memorable teaching experiences in my 20 years of teaching. My favorite moments are the random teachable moments and one in particular that stands out is the time that I had to have a discussion about race and how diversity effects us all. We talked more about what we had in common rather than our differences. It was special because some students said they learned about other cultures and how they are more alike than not which seemed to put them at ease.

What would you do with the $25,000?

$25,000 is a great deal of money and I actually love giving prizes away in my classroom so the first thing I would do is upgrade my monthly prizes to better back packs and goodies. After that, I would pay off the rest of my student loans. If anything is left, I would have to take some of that to Hawaii for some fun in the sun as I have never been there before.