Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what hobbies/sports you do.

A: “Yeah. Whoa, okay. So I am Miss Tucker. And at this age in my life, I don’t do a whole lot of sports. My favorite sport was basketball, but in my later years, I trained martial arts. So that’s what I do for the sport.”

Q: What do you teach and why?

A: “Well, I teach microeconomics okay in the AP program, and I’m also the coordinator for a program called the Rising Scholars, and so I teach a series of leadership courses. And it doesn’t matter if it’s leadership courses or economics. The grant goal is to help my students reach higher levels within themselves so that they can be success stories for the future generations.”

Q: Have you always been interested in teaching?

A: “Yes, when I was a college student, I used to mentor youth in a community and that stemmed from enjoying working with young people. And so I had a love affair with it when I was younger, and that  love affair still exists today.”

Q: What/who inspired you to become a teacher?

A: “Well, I come from a family of educators. My dad was,  he attended FAMU University of Florida A&M University, and, and I had older cousins and relatives that were very passionate about education. And so between my family influence, and just my general interest in working with the youth, being a teacher seemed like it was the perfect fit.”

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: “Well, artistically and creatively, I still enjoy producing and making hip-hop music. So I have a moniker or an alias called Professor Therapist. Some of my students know of him (laughs). And aside from that, I study the stock market pretty intensely, And so that’s what I do in my spare time.”

Q: What is one motto you will always live by?

A: “I live by the motto that one should be able to create a life by design, not by default. So that’s what I work to do in my life. And that’s what I work to do in the classroom is to help kids design a life by design, not by default.”

Q: What is your favorite teaching moment?

A: “My favorite teaching moment. One time I pranked one of my classes for stealing cookies from Mr. Behmer’s class. And so I told them that the cookies had AIDS on them. And anyone who ate any of those cookies needed to see the school nurse and it was hilarious because kids got scared and I just fell on the floor and laughed hilariously, you know, for a long period of time. It was hilarious.”

Q: What were some challenges you faced transitioning back to in-person learning? 

A: “Well, for my younger students. They have not been in a school building since they were in middle school, and so it has been somewhat challenging to get them to adapt to classroom culture. But they’re smart kids and they’re doing pretty good. It’s just that every now and then we have challenges.” 

Q: What surprised you about this year? How did it feel to be back in-person?

A: “I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. It’s nothing like connecting with your students and your colleagues, especially when everyone is committed to the idea of making a world better through education.”