Tell us why you became a teacher

I had several different science careers, and my favorite thing about these careers was learning and then subsequently teaching my peers and mentees critical information. Seeing people have the lightbulb moment by just mentoring them and scaffolding new information which gets them excited!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I got my 8th graders to do some fun crazy analogies and kinesthetic activities, and they were all engaged and learning. After that, I had several students come up to me and ask me to do more silly learning, and research projects! The students made vital connections, got better grades on their knowledge check, and became responsible for their own learning.

What would you do with the $25,000?

25,000 dollars is a lot of money. Some of it will go to a well deserved holiday during the summer, but I would like to get some more models, posters, and science materials for my classroom, plus make sure all students have pencils and pens and such in order to be the best prepared for not just my, but all their classes. Any left over money will go into my savings until I can figure out a good thing to do with it- or maybe buy some good snacks and stuff for the teacher lounge.