Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher so I could create a safe space for kids to feel valued, loved, and like they belong. I had the privilege of having many wonderful teachers to set that standard, but I knew many other students who were not as lucky. Giving each child a space to succeed and feel wanted was my biggest mission.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience so far came my first year teaching kindergarten. We had spent a lot of time working on writing complete sentences and were creating a story as a class. The students were having so much fun being creative and using all the parts of a story some forgot we were doing an assignment. At the end when I read the whole thing to them and they were able to each illustrate a scene, they were all so proud of each other! It was beautiful.

What would you do with the $25,000?

If I won the $25,000 it would go towards a down payment for my family’s first home! My daughters are young and very active and would love to have a big backyard to play in.