Tell us why you became a teacher

I often worked with children when I was younger - as a babysitter, counselor, etc. When I was in college I was in a Developmental Psych class and rekindled my love of working with children and left my law path to focus on education. I enjoy working with children and seeing them grow and learn new concepts. Their success and excitement is contagious!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

One of my most memorable teaching experiences is when a parent reached out to me to share a picture of their child reading at the basketball practice that she was coaching. She shared that her daughter had found a love of reading thanks to me. Being able to bring passion like that to a child brought tears to my eyes. It is all about finding the right book for a student and getting them to unlock new worlds.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would love to take my own children on a trip to Europe. Their teachers have excited them about history and geography and to be able to show it to them would be amazing. I have done campaigns in the past to get new books in student's hands every month and have funded several myself. It would be great if I could gift a book to the entire school every trimester and be able to do a fun activity that coordinates with it (similar to the one school one book activity that my own son's were able to do)