Stephen

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because of my 11th-grade English teacher. For the first time, I felt seen in school because of Mrs. Jacques. I remember the moment vividly. After school, we were discussing my final paper for AP Lang, and, to be honest, it was a pretty bad paper. Mrs. Jacques asked me to read my paper aloud. After finishing, instead of jumping into feedback or criticism, she simply said, "You have a nice voice, Stephen." In similar ways, I want to make my students feel seen and heard.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

Two years ago, I taught 6th-grade ELA. As we were wrapping up for lunch, I noticed one of my students, Jakhai, who had his head down on his desk. He was crying. In that moment, I knelt down next to his desk and told him, "It's okay to cry, Jakhai. You are the sky and your emotions are the weather." At the end of the day, I found a note on my desk that read, "Thank you Mr. Jin for talking to me about emotions. I've never had a teacher talk to me about that before."

What would you do with the $25,000?

To be honest, I would love to put it towards opening up my own school or an after-school/summer program for young boys. I'm passionate about being a positive male role model and combatting toxic masculinity. So, I believe that with the right mentorship, coaching, and extracurricular enrichment, I can encourage young boys to be leaders in their communities.