Growing up experiencing homelessness, extreme poverty, and abuse, it’s safe to say that my teachers were my best role models. School was a place where I developed ambition to write my own story. I knew in second grade that I wanted to become a teacher because I wanted to be able to write on the white board. But as I grew up, my inspiration evolved to center student wellness, curiosity and achievement. I aim to be the teacher each child needs to achieve their dreams, no matter how far-fetched.

It is hard to define a single teaching experience as being the most memorable, because I get to watch my students feel successful and confident in their learning each day. However, if I have to pick one, it would be the research project I designed for my students about the local indigenous tribes. Seeing the joy and compassion in my students as they research ancestral knowledge and connect it to the rich native land we live on in N. CA is truly what keeps me going!

With the prize money, I will pay off my $20,000 of student debt acquired to achieve my dreams of helping students write their own stories by overcoming their adversities. I aim for greatness, and coming from a childhood of homelessness, poverty, and abuse, that meant putting myself through college thrice while working full time and acquiring debt. With the last $5,000, using my M.Ed in Literacy, I’ll invest in equipment for my children’s literacy show that I’m hoping to publish this year.