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| Photo courtesy of: Gabi Garica |
Gabi Garcia is a woman whose
accomplishments can inspire us all to set our goals high. As a young child, she
and her family came to the United States from Mexico.
When she first arrived,
Gabi knew very little English, but she didn't let that hold her back. She
applied herself and soon became bilingual in Spanish and English.
After high school, she earned a
Bachelor's Degree in Government and Spanish. Upon graduating, she became a
teacher before getting a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology.
Today she is a licensed
professional counselor, a prolific author and a proud mother.
She lives with her family in
Austin, Texas.
Now that I've introduced you to
Gabi, let's get to know her a little better.
Hello, Gabi, welcome to Lemon Drop Literary. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.
Thank you for having me.
Why did you become an Elementary School Counselor?
I was a bilingual teacher for 4
years and realized that the students I worked with did not always have access
to bilingual counseling services and there was such a great need.
What grades do you serve?
(K-3, K-5?) I worked on an
elementary campus for 4 years and served students K-5. After that I became a
Special Education Counselor in my district where I served students who received
special education support in grades K-12! I did this for 12 years.
What are the responsibilities of an Elementary School Counselor?
So many! When I was on a campus,
I provided classroom guidance lessons to all grade levels (weekly &
biweekly), individual and group counseling, mentor/volunteer coordinator, 504
coordinator, parent and teacher support, ARDs and other duties as required that
I am possibly forgetting.:)
What are your concerns regarding the mental health of young children?
I am concerned that there is not
enough support to address these needs.
Campus counselors are overburdened, and
community resources seem to always have their funds scaled back, meanwhile it
is our kids who pay the price.
Have cuts to education effected School Counselors? If yes, how so?
Most definitely! School
counselors wear so many hats and one of the things I saw in my district was a
great deal of burnout.
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| English Version |
How has your School Counseling
experience influenced your writing?
My work has been a huge
influence. I think it is critical that we give our students the tools to be
caring, engaged, thoughtful individuals that see their worth beyond test
taking.
One of the reasons I wrote Listening with My Heart is because I
saw how hard kids could be on themselves when they made mistakes or things
didn’t go the way they wanted.
I also realized that adults talk to kids a lot
about how to be friends to others, but not about how to be friends to
themselves and this is so important!
What inspired you to become a writer?
I have always had notebooks of
stories or poems I was working on, but it took me a while to give myself
permission to share my work with the world.
In a way, I see my writing as an
extension of my counseling work. It is my intention that my books will be of
service somehow. This inspires me to keep writing.
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| English Version |
Which genre do you write?
Currently I am only writing
children’s picture books.
What do you find most challenging writing for your genre?
Children’s books need to be
short otherwise, kids (and adults) can get bored. You need to convey the story/
message in 500-600 words, which can be tough.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a children’s
picture book called Mateo Finds His Wow: A story of Wonder & Gratitude
which will be out late April/early May.
How many books have you written?
I have written 4 books:
Listening to My Body, Listening with My Heart, I Can Do Hard Things,
and my soon to be released book Mateo Finds His Wow.
What has been your most rewarding experience since publishing your work?
It has been incredibly rewarding
to hear from kids, parents and educators who take the time to let me know that
they my books have been useful to them or supported their work in some way. It
is very humbling.
What advice would you give to authors just starting out?
Make the time to write and don’t
worry about it being good. Write.
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| Spanish Version |
What message are you sharing in your books?
All of my books have an
underlying message I hope teaches children to be mindful and kind to
themselves, although they all do it in different ways.
Listening to My Body
teaches kids that the better they get at paying attention to their bodies and
their feelings, the better they’ll get at treating themselves with kindness and
care, Listening with My Heart teaches kids to pay attention to how they
talk to themselves and the importance of being a friend to themselves, and I
Can Do Hard Things teaches them to pay attention to their inner voice
and values so they can be true to themselves.
When you're not writing where can we find you?
I have an almost 6-year-old
daughter, so I spend most of my time playing, riding bikes or otherwise engaged
with her and my family. I also love going on walks, practicing yoga and
reading.
What are your favorite books?
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisnero, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline
L’Engle, Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes by Peter Levine and Maggie Kline,
The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, and anything by Brene
Brown.
What are your favorite TV shows/movies?
I really enjoy food shows like
Chef’s Table, Ugly Delicious and most recently Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
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| Spanish Version |
Is there anything else you'd like your readers to know about you?
I am so deeply grateful for the
work that teachers and counselors do. It is such important work and while I am
not in a school at this time; I do hope that my books can be of use and support
the work that educators do.
Do you have a website/Facebook page?
Yes! Gabigarciabooks.com
has free downloadable reader’s guides that accompany all my books.
My hope is
that these materials will be useful to you (about 80%) even if you don’t have
the books.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabigarciabooks/
Where can we find your books?
Thank you, Gabi, for spending
time with us and sharing your story. We wish you continued success and lots of
luck!
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