Tell us why you became a teacher

When I was 11 years old, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. But it took me 20 years to finally gather the courage to pursue that dream. In the meantime, I landed a research position at a Medical Research Foundation. While working in research, I often attended presentations where experts shared their findings. After each one, I would walk out of the lecture room mentally replaying what I had just heard thinking, “I could have explained that so much better. "

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

A student had been confused and reluctant to participate during an engineering design activity, but as we worked through the problem step by step, the concept finally clicked. While building and testing her design, she began to see how the ideas applied in practice. Her face lit up with excitement when she realized that she understood it completely and could explain her solution to others.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I will use the funds to implement an electric guitar–building project in my engineering class. After attending a workshop on building an electric guitar, I was inspired to bring this hands-on experience to my students. Each student will build a guitar from scratch, learning woodworking skills as they shape and finish the guitar body. Students will also learn basic electronics by wiring the pickups and controls, which includes soldering wires and assembling the electrical components.