Spotlight on Gahlya Auel

Gahlya Auel is the Inclusionary Practices Coordinator in the Student & School Success department.

How long have you worked for ESD 112 and what does your job entail?

I started working for the ESD In April of 2020! What an interesting time to start a brand new job! So interesting in fact that I have not even been into the office or met my team in person 😊

My job entails working with building leaders and other educators to increase the inclusionary practices in their schools. I do this by providing professional development to the leadership team and the teachers and engaging in individualized coaching with their teams.

I also provide region wide trainings on different topics surrounds inclusionary practices that are free and anyone can join! These are done via zoom right now of course.

What do you like best about your job?

I love working with educators and having discussions about their thoughts, feelings, and ideas about this work. It gives me hope and joy. I love working with different school teams and hearing about what people have been doing already in their buildings and what they want to do to help all of their students.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

Right now it is challenging because of COVID and how overwhelmed everyone in education is with making sure all kids are just able to get access to education and stay safe. I never want to be in a position where I am overwhelming a team, so balancing the importance of this work and trying to keep it going, while being respectful of people’s capacity has been my main focus.

Also – I thought I was “with it” in terms of technology but boy was I wrong! I had a strong learning curve with all of the new technology and going virtual for everything. I love being able to be with people and with being virtual can be challenging, but I will say that it has been MUCH better than I thought it would be!

What do you consider to be your greatest on-the-job skill or asset?

I think that I am good at listening to people’s needs and responding to them, asking questions, working in a group, showing passion for what I do, and problem solving.

Single? Married? Kids? Pets?

I am an auntie to 6 wonderful little ones and have 3 brothers! I am the only girl! I love being a full time auntie or as they call me “Titi” 😊

I have a cat named Fiona and she is about 17 years old. She hangs out next to me all day while I work and always wants to be by my side. Everyone says they love her as soon as they meet her and that she is like a “cat-dog.” People who say they don’t even like cats LOVE her. She loves people and is so friendly!

What do you enjoy doing with your free time?

Let’s pretend you asked me this question on March 12^th 2020 😊

I love spending time with my family and friends. I have a very big family who is (was) always getting together! I love traveling to visit people and new places, reading or listening to audio books, salsa dancing, walking/hiking/yoga, going to the beach to fly my kite, swimming, watching it rain with a cup of coffee, volunteering with Harper’s Playground, eating, doing home improvement projects, going to farmers markets, gardening, and giving haircuts!

If your coworkers wanted to surprise you with a little treat sometime what should it be?

Well, let’s see – I love most things! I love coffee, cute things for my office, healthy snacks, chocolate (I know – it’s not a healthy snack!), lavender anything, ginger anything…the list goes on!

One thing people should know I guess is I am allergic to gluten and dairy so I don’t eat those things 😊

What is something that no one would guess about you if they just met you?

Hmmm…

• My first language was not English
• I am fluent in Spanish
• I drive a stick shift car
• I want to go to barber school
• My grandmother wrote “The Clan of the Cave Bear”
• I love true crime books/shows/movies 

If you could master one skill you don’t have right now, what would it be?

SINGING!!!! My dream would be to be able to sing but I think I am one of those tone deaf people! I sound really good to myself so maybe I will just need to continue singing my myself in the car and shower!

If you could play one instrument you aren’t able to now, what would it be and why?

PIANO! I really want to learn how to play the piano and was all set up for lessons before COVID happened so I hope to actually be able to start them again sometime.

What is the meaning/story behind your name?

“Gahl” in Hebrew mean “wave” (like the wave of an ocean) and “ya” would be the way that “G-d” is written. So my name means “a wave of g-d,” or “g-d’s wave.” My father was born in Palestine, and we lived there for the first part of my life, so a Hebrew name was chosen for me. I am told that it is a very common name there, but not here!

If you had been born the opposite gender, what would your parents have named you?

Yehuda 😊

What did you want to be when you were little?

When I was little I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to be like Sally Ride. I even wrote a children’s story about it. 😊

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever lived?

I lived in Las Vegas for 3 years during graduate school when I was going to UNLV. Boy was that place interesting. Such a unique “culture” in that town. Outside of the “strip,” or what the locals call “planet Vegas” which they don’t go to very often if ever, is what I would call an “oddly normal” place – normal in such a unique way. Like people go grocery shopping like normal but maybe they do it at 3:00am because that is when they get off work and it feels like it is in the middle of the day in the store, or that almost everyone has “vanity” or personalized license plates because they don’t cost more than normal plates, or that people start to head out on a Friday or Saturday night around 1:00am to meet friends.

If you could speak another language, which would it be and why?

I would love to learn to speak Arabic.