Billie Lanigan

Tell us why you became a teacher

I used to be a horse trainer and riding instructor. When my son was born, I was a single mother and was going to have to find care for him daily and the thought broke my heart. I decided I needed to get out of the horse business, but didn't know what to do. My favorite part of working with horses was actually working with people who wanted to learn about horses. Steve Irwin was my idol. I decided I wanted to spread my passion for learning.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I honestly don't have just one. I"m a science teacher, so it's easy to make learning fun. I love watching kids get comfortable with doing labs and the routines, with them knowing what to expect and feeling safe to take risks. By the half-year mark, I can step back and watch the kids come up with their own ideas for investigations and be creative. They have so much fun - it just makes me happy to see them happy,

What would you do with the $25,000?

I'm really not in this just for me. I work with two other teachers who are incredible teachers. We all have the same goal - to make science fun. We want our middle schoolers excited about science and eager to take more science classes when they move on to high school. I would share the money with my team. We have dreams of building a tsunami tank for an end of year project, or an earthquake simulator. There are so many things we want to do that the school district can't fund.