Tell us why you became a teacher

To inspire students is the easiest thing to say. However, it is more than that. Also, trying to save a child is too overwhelming and can be an extremely daunting task. However, building an environment for students to be safe, for students to smile, or to build a class they look forward to is not. So daily I look to make students smile. I look forward to giving them opportunities to think. I try to develop an environment for them to look forward to. This is why I became a teacher.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I will never stop looking for ways to experience amazing things with students.  I have gone to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia with 40 students on a People-to-People trip. I have volunteered to take a dozen trips to Washington D.C with our 8th grade students. I have experienced 6th grade camp with students. I have taken our 8th grade students to cedar point multiple times. Just recently I volunteered to take 23 students to London and Scotland. To just say one memory wouldn’t be enough.

What would you do with the $25,000?

STEM Robotics is a brand new program in our district that I have helped build. I would like to use some of the money to continue building the program. I also would love to use $500 per year for the next 10 years to giveaway as a scholarship to students in our own district going to college for STEM, Math, or Engineering!