Delia Gallardo, a 23-year teaching veteran at Bostonia Global, counts education as saving her life. She shares this belief in education as a means to uplift students she serves to reach their full potential. With the crucial values of perseverance, determination, and courage, no place is unreachable.

"Life is a journey; we never know when we will hit those bumps, and that's when life shows us our true character. As we dig for the courage, we pull ourselves up and keep going," said Gallardo.

Hispanic Heritage Month is an important time of year for Delia Gallardo. It's a time to celebrate her culture and the communities she serves as an educator. Still, it's also a time to reflect on how far she's come.

Delia was drawn to teaching because of her experience as an immigrant who struggled with the language barrier in school. "I had one bilingual friend in the classroom that could help me out," she said. "I will never forget her name, Cynthia. Cynthia was my translator. Anything I needed, I would go to Cynthia."

She continued: "I think Cynthia got tired of me asking her to do all this translation for me. She turned around and said, 'You do it.' It broke my heart, but I had no choice but to go do it myself. So I went to my teacher, and she told me what to say and asked me to repeat it. And after that day," she continued, "I never asked Cynthia again to translate for me."

"Cynthia pushed me to the next level to learn English and do things for myself," said Gallardo. "And I think that has much to do with why I am an educator. Thanks to Cynthia and my fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Ledbetter. I still remember her name too."

Delia feels both humbled and proud about being an educator. "I'm proud of working precisely at Bostonia Global because of the struggles that I went through," she explains. "In the eighties, it wasn't ok to speak Spanish. We had to speak English. Now, I'm at a dual immersion school where Spanish isn't just ok but encouraged."

Today—Delia’s ensuring her students have all the tools they need to succeed. Through Project Invent, Delia wants kids in her school to see themselves as inventors, scientists, mathematicians—anything they want to be! "Because when I first came to the United States, I didn't see myself as a teacher. But here I am. So, I want to be part of making that connection for students. That we aren't just visualizing it, but we are those people."

Last year at Bostonia Global, Delia was exposed to the middle school design lab, where students were introduced to global issues. She saw how students wanted to be a part of something but didn't yet see the connection to our day-to-day world.

"Through Project Invent, I feel like students are going to bring it home. These issues are not just out there in the world, but right here. This is us; this is our community. This is what's going to push us to do more because we are agents of change. We can make a difference." ∎

Delia has been a pleasure to spotlight during Hispanic & LatinX Heritage Month.

Project Invent is excited to partner with fellows like Delia and schools like Bostonia Global who prove you can change someone's life with just one lesson. We look forward to seeing all our fellows and their teams reach their next level and have a lasting, lifelong impact in our world.