Connect Tell us why you became a teacher

After experiencing a moment of ridicule in high school from a teacher I still hold deep admiration for, I decided to become a teacher. He pushed me to be my best self, and I succeeded academically because of it. He also motivated me to become a teacher that holds learners’ passions sacred to the learning experience, and that includes learners as equal voices in the classroom. He taught to children. I teach with them. I registered for my first teaching course before I left high school.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Every moment of teaching gives me life, but if I’ve got to pick one, it’d be analyzing the painting ‘American Progress,’ by John Gast, with my Grade 5 learners during an inquiry into American Expansionism. The depth of thought, the empathy, the perspectives they explored, the questions they asked and inferences they made were phenomenal. Hearing these conversations and seeing this thinking gives me such hope for the future of our country and the world.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Right now, I live about 100 miles away from my school (due to family circumstances). The school community is extraordinary, and I feel I’ve found my home here. The commute (2.5 hours one way by train) is daunting. I’d love to use at least a portion of the money to help me find a place closer to my school, so that I can give 100% of me to this community.