Tell us why you became a teacher

To be completely transparent, at 22, I didn't really know that I wanted to be a teacher. I went to college to figure out what I wanted to be. I was always a good student and I enjoyed children, so I chose Elementary Education. My first year was in 5th grade. After barely surviving that year, I moved to 3rd grade, my true love. But after 4 years, I burnt out and went back to graduate school for English as a Second Language. I've been doing ESL since 2008 at the same school.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I think my most memorable teaching experiences have been working with my English as a Second Language students. There is something amazing about when they find the courage to start speaking, and then the one word responses transform into sentences. And then the students become more courageous and started asking questions and participating in their class. It is awesome, truly awesome. I have so many years of those experiences.

What would you do with the $25,000?

It depends. Is the prize money for me or do I use it on the students? Because I would probably save 1/2 of the money and then donate the other 1/2 to my school. I've been working at Devonshire Elementary for 18 years. I work in a building that should have been condemned years ago but we continue to get overlooked on city bonds. We are the forgotten school.