Tell us why you became a teacher

Since I was a child, I was always teaching. It started with lining up my stuffed animals and giving them assignments! I went straight into the teaching program after high school. I know that I am excellent at teaching; at giving information in a way that people understand. It is not always easy, but it is always rewarding.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

For six summers I taught conversational English to students from Japan. I wrote some amazing skits and the students loved performing the skits in front of their peers. One skit was about the angry restaurant customer. I had a student who played this part so well. The whole class was laughing uncontrollably at his performance. The best line was, "If my steak comes out with any red in it, I'll throw it on the floor!"

What would you do with the $25,000?

Since 2001, my first summer with Japanese students, I have always dreamed of visiting Japan. I still talk to some of my former students, so meeting them in their homeland would be so amazing. Of course we always end up spending our own money on our students, so having some extra would greatly help!