Renee Sturgis

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because of my children. I loved doing things with them and seeing them learn and experience those “AHA!” moments. I was a very involved parent and teaching was a natural extension of that as I became very involved in agricultural education. It started with me falling into the role of 4H Leader and lead to me becoming a certified agricultural educator and FFA advisor and later evolved to include teaching many areas of science.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I have two very core memories that I cherish both for different reasons. The first was watching my daughter walk across the stage to accept her FFA American Degree from soon-to-be vice president Pence and the other, more recently, was the day one of my former students messaged me to let me know that he had followed in my footsteps and became an agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor himself.

What would you do with the $25,000?

The $25,000 would go a long way to helping me get back on my feet (literally). I’m disabled and have a lot of medical bills and needs all of which cost a lot. But I won’t lie, I’ll probably take a nice trip to the Florida Keys too.