Joy Grimmage-Twiggs

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because I saw the impact I had on the students when I would volunteer in my son's 1st grade classroom many years ago. The light on their faces when they accomplished a math problem or learned a new word to spell and put into a sentence on their own.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable moment teaching would be when I had to cover a class and was able to execute the lesson plan as well as allow the students to find ways to expand the lesson using their creative thinking skills. A student came to me and said, " Ms. Twiggs, you're the best teacher ever. Are you coming back tomorrow?" I will never forget that because it gave me the initiative to continue in my studies and help more students on every level of learning.

What would you do with the $25,000?

What I would do with the $25,000 is help pay my student loan, take my students to the Smithsonian Museum in DC. I would be humbly grateful because I would have enough for my down payment on a home for my son and I. We need our own home indefinitely. This would be a dream come true.