Tell us why you became a teacher

My aunt has always been my inspiration. She is now retired, but when I was young I would go to her classrooms to help. I even went out to California to visit her classroom there, and we went on a field trip to Sea World! Also, as a young girl, I would play school with my friends, or even use my dolls as students. I loved pretending to make up tests and grade papers.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Many of my best teaching experiences involve teaching students how to read. I believe that the process of learning how to read is such a wonderful journey. From the first exposure to letters, learning letter/sound recognition, blending sounds to form words, and then to begin reading sentences. This is something that excites me each year with every class I have been blessed to teach.

What would you do with the $25,000?

If I was gifted $25,000, first I would pay off some bills to help our family’s finances. Then, I would love to plan an all inclusive trip to a new destination, with a group of friends!