Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher to follow in my father's footsteps. He is in his 39th year of teaching. Growing up, seeing his passion for the job, and the impact that he has had on his students inspired me to do the same.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Last year was a difficult year. I had a student who had some pretty serious mental health issues and had been hospitalized several times. That student and I formed a bond and my classroom became a safe space for her. At the end of the year, she gave me a hand written letter expressing her gratitude. Being able to support her emotionally and academically and hearing first-hand from her how much it meant to her was really impactful.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I teach English. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints at my school, there are no funds to buy books. All books in my classroom have either been kindly donated to me by the families at the school, or bought with money from my own pocket. Each year, we do two novel studies. We read The Giver and The Hobit. Since there is not enough money, I have only managed to buy a total of 6 copies of each book. If I had $25,000, I would buy class sets of each book and ideally, a bigger classroom library.