I became a teacher because it is in my blood. My parents were teachers and my mother became a librarian and my father became a superintendent. I have always loved helping children and adults find out how they learn best and help them create that world for owning their knowledge and understanding how to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information. I love it when the light in their eyes brightens and they see how successful they can be. This opens the world of opportunity for each person.

My most memorable teaching experience is when I started a program for students with neurodiversity and learning disabilities to be successful in college. The first student I met came to me with his head down, hoodie up and barely grunting answers. Building a relationship with this student allowed me to help him discover who he was. His GPA came up immediately, he lost the hoodie, and began finding success in himself. He ran the One Stop, graduated, and is in a 4 yr school studying psych

I would donate it to my school’s foundation for the students who have food insecurity. We have many students who have to choose between books and food. I would donate it to our foundation to create a food tab in the cafeteria for students who are hungry to be able to have a hot meal at least once a day. Everyone needs a little help now, and this would help so many students who are hungry. It costs the school 6 million dollars to feed students free, so this would be a small offering toward that.