What teacher could possibly manage the literary magazine of the school, sponsor a club, teach and organize an entire talent show by herself? Ms. Zaldivar, of course! Currently, Ms. Zaldivar is teaching AP literature, English 1, Creative Writing and Catharsis.

Ms. Zaldivar graduated from Gables in 2006 and then went to study at FIU. She later graduated, majoring in International Business and minoring in English. When Zaldivar finally decided to teach, she went to school to finish a second degree in English Literature. She then received her first instructional position at Gables in 2012, making it the first school she has taught at.

Even though Zaldivar is young and is somewhat close to her students’ age, she doesn’t see it like that.

“I don’t really think about it that way. There is a clear distinction in the relationship of teacher and student and I hold my authority in the classroom. Except for people that walk into my room that don’t already know me, especially if I’m just sitting with a student or small group of students working on something, then they’ll refuse to believe I’m actually the teacher,” said Zaldivar.

Even though some might consider Ms. Zaldivar a rookie, she is far from one. She has already accomplished plenty of things such as successfully organizing Cav Crash (our yearly talent show), sponsoring catharsis (the school’s literary magazine), and helping fundraise money for field trips like National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Conference where students learn all about the journalistic world. To be able to plan everything, she gets an immense amount of help, insight, and support from other teachers and from students.

“The only reason I took on Cav Crash this year was because I had the confidence in them [leadership team] to be able to pull it off…for the actual execution of the show, the expertise of Mr. John Bryant and the magic he and Ms. Cuba have worked with the Gables Live! Crew is what made the show actually come together and be the hit it was,” Ms. Zaldivar said.

When the idea for Cav Crash was first introduced to her, she didn’t give an answer right away. She had proposed the idea to this year’s leadership team, including Creative Writing President Zoe Redmond, Treasure Daniela Rodriguez, Secretary (and Editor in Chief of Catharsis Aliyah Symes and the entire Catharsis editorial staff and had let them consider the idea. The next day, the team was bursting with ideas and excitement over the project; there was no way she could say no to it.

“I did nothing by myself, except maybe run like a maniac up and down the aisles trying to get score sheets added up,” Ms. Zaldivar said.

Ms. Zaldivar keeps learning everyday from both fellow teachers and her students. Even though she still considers herself a ‘rookie’, she has already contributed so much for Gables. Many cannot wait to see how well she will do in the future.