Tell us why you became a teacher

I wanted to become a teacher after teaching multiple children how to swim. My favorite part was seeing their face light up once they understood how to do something or when they surprised themselves, not realizing that they were able to do something (like float on their back) all by themselves! I love seeing that lightbulb moment happen for my students!

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

There are constantly memorable teaching experiences for me. One of my most memorable teaching experiences was when one of my students, after concluding our unit about Space, told me that she now wanted to become an astronaut because of all of the amazing things she learned about space from being in my classroom.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I have to answer: a realistic answer and a fun answer. The realistic answer is to pay off most of my student loans because that stress would, in turn, play a role in helping with my professional development. My fun answer is to spend it on a vacation to all the places I teach in my ancient civilization history class: Africa, Egypt, India, China, Greece, and Rome. I would love to truly experience all the historic places I teach about every year to bring more life into my teaching!