In college, Felicity had planned to become an actuary after getting her bachelor's degree in mathematics. But she learned about a program called Teach for America, where recent college graduates are trained to teach for two years in public schools in low-income areas. "I realized that I wanted to add something to society," she says, "and I felt that if I didn't become an actuary, there would be someone to replace me. But if I didn't go into the classroom, I might not be replaced, and some deserving students would not receive the instruction they deserved."

After she completed the program, she went on to become a teacher with the Ingenuity Project at Robert Poole Middle, a city-wide science and mathematics magnet program. She has been teaching mathematics there for the past six years, and received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2000.

She finds that the most useful piece of technology in her classroom is a projector that she can connect to her computer. Instead of showing plain transparencies on an overhead projector, she can now prepare engaging presentations, show video clips, and use the Internet as a classroom tool. Though it's a simple piece of technology, it really enhances her ability to get complex concepts across to her students.

On the role of video in the classroom:
"Through video, students can see things and go places they couldn't otherwise. They really understand -- it's much better than with a cartoon or a drawing... Whether it's letting kids see how to find the area of a circle visually, or an application of math they can get into, it's one more learning modality through which I can reach students."