Autumn Johnson

Connect Tell us why you became a teacher

I tried my hardest to not be a teacher. I come from a family of educators. My mom, dad, both sisters, two grandparents, and multiple uncles are all educators, and I’m stubborn by nature and have always been interested in medicine. So I went to school to be a nurse practitioner, but ended up middle school on a gap year and fell in love. Here I am 7 years later and loving it more each year! I get to nerd out about all the sciences with all my favorite scientists! What’s not to love?

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience would have to be my very first year. The science teacher at my school left a week before the start of school and they offered me the job. Until this point I had been Americorps and then an SEA. Then we went on Covid lock down. I did live dissections on my porch. Sometimes we just hung out after school and watched movies until 8-9 pm just because we all needed comfort. I taught them too obviously, but I wanted to be there for them as a human during that time.

What would you do with the $25,000?

The main reason I entered this contest is because my kids are obsessed with Bill NYE and desperately want him to come to our school. With the money I’d take all my kids on an overnight sleepover to Sea Life. They’ve been begging, but it’s just too expensive. And I’d put some aside to give to my graduates. I’ve always wanted to be able to just drop a significant amount of cash at an unsuspecting recent grad’s party. Using some for a down payment for a house close to school would be amazing too.