Zachary Rhodes

I have always wanted to be a teacher since I was only 5 years old. From the small chalkboards to the mountains of stuffed animals (and my sister), I would teach in my little classroom for hours a day. I am driven by the hope of helping others in reaching their goals. For my career, its not about what's in it for me; Its what is in it for the hundreds and thousands of kids I can impact in my lifetime. I have only been a teacher for 1.5 years and I sit in awe in the impacts I have already created.

I would have to say the end of my first semester teaching at my high school. We have just completed our first season of Esports at our school and we, very proudly, made it to playoffs! da Vinci High School was kown to be an "alternative" school district for years. This was a refreshing breath to show that we are much more than a lower-end school. To give students who dont get much love and help a smile- That is what I live for. My permanent goal is to make impacts like this for life.

I would most definitely invest a good portion of this to the Esports Team at my school for new systems and equipment so we can expand our program. This will really make the students very happy! We could only afford 2 Nintendo Switches which limits the games that we could play, but hopefully this would help tremendously. I would then probably use the remaining funds to gift my dad and mom for supporting me for all these years when I was a kid wanting to be a teacher.