Dr. Donna Gaudet of Scottsdale Community College

For Dr. Donna Gaudet, becoming an educator was inevitable. “I come from a family of teachers…I just loved that environment.” She started teaching math at Scottsdale Community College in 1991 (her focus is now developmental math). “I left after five years…and in the fall I am starting my fourth or fifth year back at SCC. I came back to Scottsdale because I thought that SCC was a fabulous school. I really appreciate the support that we get from the administration, and I think the students feel that way too. It’s nice to be in a place where you can try new things.”

Though she was born in Chicago and raised in Arkansas, Gaudet received most of her college education in Colorado. While in school, she traveled to Scottsdale to study for a year and fell in love with the city.

Though some educators still prefer the chalkboard method, Gaudet gets students’ attention with a tool called a Livescribe pen, a handheld micro-recorder and camera that allows her to display her notes online. “[My students] see what I’ve written, and they hear my voice synchronized with the writing,” Gaudet says. “I am really into using technology.”

When she isn’t trying out new teaching tools, Gaudet is on the board of a charitable organization, Aogaah Foundation, which benefits Cambodian schoolchildren and teaches them to read and write. This year, she will swim 5.3 miles across Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho to raise funds for the nonprofit. “It’s not an organized event; just me and a friend of mine doing it to raise money,” Gaudet says. —S. Z.