Makenzie Mudd

Tell us why you became a teacher

I did not initially intend to but I was not happy with my first major in college and when soul searching about what I truly wanted to do, reading, writing, and working with others were the things I really enjoyed. Starting my classes in education made me so happy and I knew rhis was meant to be.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I had a student who hated reading and never wanted to participate in class or interact. One day, he opened up about liking sports and we found a book about a football player. He read the book and said it was the first book that he ever remembers finishing. He went to high school the next year and I lost touch. I saw him working at a fast food restaurant a few years later and he thanked me for pushing him to read and try and that meant the world.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would use a lot of the money to pay some bills and feel more comfortable not having to find additional sources of income. I would also use some to add new books to my classroom library so that my students could have new things to read each year