In honor of Alisal’s 60th Anniversary, this is the fourth in an ongoing series of staff/alumni profiles.

If you had asked history teacher Carla Gonzalez what she wanted to do for a living when she was in school, teaching would not have been her first career choice; she aspired to be a heart surgeon. “As a kid I was drawn to the medical field and wanted to help people,” she said. Gonzalez never guessed that she would be back at the school working with people who were once her former teachers.

Gonzalez graduated in 2011. During her four years, she made it her duty to be active in the community by playing sports and being part of clubs at school. “I played basketball, did cross country, theater, I did folklorico, I was in CSF with Ms. Albano, and an editor of the newspaper,” she said. “I liked that it felt like there was a place for everybody. You would be able to find a group where you felt seen and welcomed. I felt and continue to feel that here at Alisal that since the teachers care for the community and have been in the community that they care more authentically for the students.“

After graduating, Gonzalez attended San Francisco State University, taking on  a double major in history and women and gender studies.  It was there in San Francisco that she realized that teaching was the career for her. “I had a classmate in college who had worked at the student center on campus and encouraged me to apply,” she said. “I saw that there was an opening at the Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) and was interested in working with neurodivergent students. The experiences I had there advocating for students and working with dedicated counselors was incredibly inspiring to me and ultimately was what led me to go into teaching.”

After receiving her Bachelor’s degree, she went to UC Santa Cruz where she got her Master’s in education.  Upon attaining her degrees, a teaching position became available at Alisal. “I wanted to give back to my community and in particular give back to the loving mentality the teachers gave me while I was here,” she said. She would get to teach Chicano and Ethnic Studies as well as history. “As a first year teacher, being able to teach all these classes made me excited,” she said. 

She started working as a teacher at Alisal in 2018. Being a teacher who was once a student meant that Gonzalez was now working with the people who once taught her. “It was especially funny at first because I felt as if they still saw me as their student, but what was nice to see as an adult was that mentorship I experienced when I was a teenager still remained as I became a teacher,” she said. 

Although teaching has brought her joy, it has also come with its challenges. “I used to think that it was easier to start off less strict to get students comfortable and become more strict as the year went on, but that was a rookie mistake,” Gonzalez said. “Now I do the opposite.” Throughout the years, Gonzalez has seen many changes. Anywhere from the way they teach the students, to bringing and creating more extracurriculars and the campus itself.  “We have a lot more technology; that is great,” she said. “I think the more technology access for students is a good thing because it prepares you all for the world outside of the classroom and allows for you to further develop your critical thinking skills.”

She believes that Alisal is doing a better job at getting students ready for the real world and their future careers. “We didn’t have the college and career team. What has remained the same is how resilient our students are and the drive they have to become successful,” Gonzalez said.

According to Gonzalez, Alisal and overall the community around us holds a very big piece of who she is, as well as what motivates her to continue teaching. “Alisal is a family, in all senses of the word,” she said. “You succeed together and face challenges together. Maybe you have arguments along the way but we stay together. We are a tight knit community that has been a long standing and important institution in East Salinas.”

Gonzalez made it very clear that she adores her students and her job. “There are so many things,” she said. “I always have the best stories at the end of the day. This tells me that I have had a really good experience.”