I have always loved teaching and math, but when I was going through a really hard time in life I had a lot of people help me, because they were in positions and had the training to do so, and the way that they helped me and shared their personalities and hope changed my life. I have wanted to do that for my students ever since. I try to help them gain confidence in themselves that they can do hard things and they can learn math even when they have never felt like they could.

One of my most memorable teaching experiences was getting a shoutout from a student. I had him in class for a year, and wrote him a letter of recommendation at the end of the year. The next year, he wrote me a shoutout (something our district has set up, you can submit a google form with a 'shoutout' telling a teacher something you have appreciated or something they have done good) and on it he wrote, "Thank you for making me not bad at math." That is one of my favorite parts of my job!

I have always loved starting businesses and had my own tutoring business that helped me pay for my degree. I would love to use the $25,000 to start a free tutoring center in Cache Valley. I have tutored math for many years, and love helping students grow their confidence, and I think it would be so cool to start a tutoring center that is free for students, and is run on donations and grants. I think this could really positively impact how math is thought of and how kids learn math in our valley!