Grace

I grew up in a military family, which meant moving often and constantly starting over in new places. By the time I graduated high school, I had attended 11 different schools. While the towns, classrooms, and classmates were always changing, my teachers and the curriculum were the only real constants in my life. Those teachers gave me stability. Because of that experience, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. I want to be that same sense of consistency and support for students.

One of my most memorable teaching moments was helping run our school’s science fair last year. I had my intermediate students create science fair projects in all of my classes, giving them the opportunity to design their own experiments and investigate questions they were genuinely curious about. What made the experience so meaningful was seeing students who previously didn’t seem very excited about science become completely engaged in their projects.

If I were fortunate enough to receive the $25,000, part of the money would go toward paying down my student loans. Like many educators, I invested a lot into my education in order to pursue a career that I truly care about, and reducing that financial burden would allow me to focus even more fully on my students and my classroom. I would also use a portion of the funds to invest in STEM materials. Hands-on learning is incredibly important to me, especially in science. ALSO I love BILL