After teaching Iditarod in my classroom for nearly a decade, in March 2022 I was lucky enough to get to attend the annual Winter Iditarod Educators Conference IN ALASKA! I also got to be at the starting line of the 50th Iditarod! While there, I decided to participate in the first ever Iditarod Certified Educator course with a former colleague who also teaches Iditarod. After 40 hours of coursework, I officially became one of the first ever Iditarod Certified Educators! 

Each year, one lucky teacher gets to go out on the Iditarod Trail during the race as an Education Ambassador, reporting back to teachers across the globe and across grade levels from Pre-K to college, sharing their experiences and lesson ideas! This was always a pipe-dream of mine, and nothing I ever thought I'd ever try for. But after visiting in 2022, I decided it was time to go for it! I was lucky enough to be chosen as a Teacher on the Trail Finalist for the 2024 Iditarod, which allowed me to travel back to Alaska in March 2023 to present to educators from across the country at the Educators Conference, and to be a part of both the Ceremonial Start and Restart (Official Race Start) for Iditarod 51! While I wasn't chosen as the 2024 Teacher on the Trail, I still had the experience of a lifetime - one I will truly never forget. I was able to make so many dreams come true on those two Alaskan Adventures...I hope my tales from the trail start will encourage my students to chase their dreams, too! 

If you don't know much about Iditarod, no worries... If you're in my classes - you'll be learning a bit about it!