Jess Soell

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I love science and I love teaching students about science. I teach middle school and whenever I tell people that they give me a strange look, because they don’t understand it, but I absolutely love it. Middle school is a hard age but I love helping my students through the hard stuff and enjoy the good stuff.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

The most memorable moments for me have been after my students leave my classroom and years later they come back to me or email me and tell me how much my class meant to them. I had a student reach out to me last year in just this way. She struggled when she was in 7th grade and didn’t always behave in my class. She emailed me to let me know how she was and to tell me how much it meant to her that I believed in her.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I have two daughters, 15 and 18. My oldest daughter is in college studying art history and my younger daughter wants to go to college and get her doctorate so she can be a college professor in history. I would split the money between them to put towards their college educations.