Cali Hollers

I became a teacher because my heart has always been called to nurture and believe in children. My journey began in special education as a paraprofessional, then teaching self-contained for three years, where I learned patience, structure, and advocacy. Moving to kindergarten opened my heart and mind to even greater impact. I love building strong foundations, watching growth happen, and helping every child feel safe, capable, and deeply valued.

This school year has been my most memorable. I’ve poured my heart into my 19 students while experiencing my daughter’s very first year of kindergarten just across the hall. Teaching alongside my best friends and watching my own child grow in real time, while nurturing my “other babies” has been the most magical blend of motherhood and calling. It’s been exhausting and beautiful— a year I will cherish forever.

If I won $25,000, I would use it to love on the people who love me the most—my family. Every day, my students get the very best of me. They get my energy, my patience, my whole heart. And truthfully, my family often gets what’s left at the end of long days. I would use that blessing to pour back into them—slow mornings, meaningful trips, belly laughs, and uninterrupted time together. It would be my way of saying thank you for sharing me with so many others.