Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I wanted to be the art teacher I didn't have when I was younger. In school, I had a hard time connecting with teachers, however, it was different with my theatre teacher. Later on in middle school, despite not taking an art class, I taught myself how to draw due to inspiration from cartoons and video games. Friends then would ask me to teach them, as they saw my improvement. I enjoyed teaching them and seeing the joy when they felt proud of themselves and their work.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience happened this year, during my first year.I work at a title1 school where there is a high teacher turn around rate, and unfortunately they haven't had an art teacher in a while. This was their first year having one in a good bit. I had a student come up to me after class and let me know that he's happy with his improvement and asked if I will be here next year because he'd be sad if I wasn't and how he enjoys having a safe space. This made me so happy to hear

What would you do with the $25,000?

With the $25,000, I would use it to pay off my student loans that I used to become a teacher. I unfortunately due to not being able to get a car during student teaching spent a lot more money than anticipated on Ubers, buses, and trains to my school, and due to this it has left me shorter on money to pay off loans. This money would help me greatly to be able to pay off loans and have more security.