Tell us why you became a teacher

I had retired from the New Haven Police Department and was working on my Master's degree in Biology. I was asked to teach a few classes to help the Biology department out. I wasn't really interested, as I had never considered the profession or that I would be a good fit within it. I taught for about a year and fell in love with the profession before I moved onto middle school at Beman Middle School in Middletown, Ct.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I was seated in my room after school one day. I looked up to see an old student from my first year of teaching walk through the door with a big smile on his face. I hadn't seen him in 5 years or so, as he was currently in high school. He informed me that he had made a special trip back to see me and tell me that he had been in school about 11 years at that point and I was the only teacher that he felt liked him. It was then I realized there is a lot more to teaching than just the curriculum.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would use any cash award to go to the same places any extra money seems to find itself going. Room supplies are always in tight supply in my inner city middle school. Three of my own biological kids are currently spread out across the country in college. Coffee supplies, which are needed in those tough early mornings