Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Carla Garay’s Journey from Student to Teacher in Her Hometown

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we are celebrating Carla Garay, a special education teacher at John F. Kennedy High School whose journey has brought her back to the community that raised her. Starting as a paraeducator in 2019, she has grown into her current role, where she focuses on equipping students with the skills for a meaningful life and career after high school.

As a special education teacher, Garay leads courses in Career Awareness, Pre-Vocational Jobs and Transition Pathways. Her goal is clear: to help her students build the skills, confidence and independence they need to achieve successful outcomes.

"I am inspired every day by my students’ curiosity and growth," she said. "They look forward to coming into class and learning something new, whether it’s an everyday life skill or a practical task that can be applied in the workforce."

For Garay, every lesson is a seed for a future career. Simple tasks like washing dishes can lead to vital roles in a kitchen, and activities such as putting together a menu can spark interests in digital design or interior planning. “My goal is to show my students that what may seem small today can become something meaningful and impactful in their future,” she says. “Every lesson, every skill we practice, has the potential to grow into a lifelong career.”

Garay’s background as a Latina, who grew up in the Wheaton and Silver Spring areas and graduated from an MCPS high school, deeply influences her work. She says that she understands the challenge of navigating career pathways while balancing strong cultural and family values, which emphasize love and resilience, with the demands of the wider world.

Her path to the classroom was unexpected. Before teaching, she spent 15 years in retail services, a career that revealed her passion for leadership, mentorship and teaching others. Ultimately, with a degree in biology and a master’s degree in special education when the opportunity arose to transition into education, she seized it, finding herself right back in her childhood community—a place she describes as "full of culture, diversity and strength." 

"Working here feels like coming full circle," she said. "I have the privilege of giving back to the place that shaped me, and I strive to inspire my students to believe that anything is possible."