Tell us why you became a teacher

I love teaching. I love helping people be the best they can be. I love learning new and interesting information and helping others get excited about learning and growing as productive human beings. Students give me energy and hope for the future. I value my relationships with all my middle school students and with my team of teachers. It's a fantastic profession that is full of challenge and rigor. Every day is different and full of opportunities.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I can think of so many. The absolute best experience any educator can have is the "Ah Ha!" moments that occur in real time when students are right there with you in a lesson or struggling to understand a new or complex subject and then their eyes get big and a smile comes over their face and they "get" it.

What would you do with the $25,000?

As an educator, I am not alone when I tell you I support my salary with other jobs. I not only teach six sections of science to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, I tutor, work as a teacher in an extended day program at our school, and am the Aquatics Director where I teach swim lessons at George School Day camp in the summer. The money would help my family pay off credit cards, help out with my daughter's undergrad debt, and my son's undergrad and law school debt.