"Cultivating a Sense of Home in Grand Island" - GIPS Cast, Ep. 067

"We're making history together right now." 

Laura Gamboa Urrego believes everyone should feel welcome in their hometown. 

Coming to Grand Island from the country of Colombia as a Kindergartner, she experienced first-hand the power of feeling welcome in a new space… Her local public schools. 

As a student at Newell Elementary, Walnut Middle School, and Grand Island Senior High, she learned to speak English, she thrived in her educational journey thanks to incredible educators, and she found her passion for connecting with people in the community. 

After graduation from GISH in 2016 she ventured to the University of Nebraska Lincoln where she earned degrees in Global Studies and Political Science and minored in Human Rights. 

With her degrees in-hand, and a love for welcoming folks from around the world Laura headed back to her hometown of Grand Island to give back to the community that gave her so much. 

And that’s where we find her today.

Laura currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Stuhr Museum — one of Grand Island’s flagship organizations. 

She was kind enough to stop to share her story with us for our annual alumni series. 

Because what makes the work of public education so meaningful is seeing how our students continue to make an impact after high school.  

Listen to the latest episode above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

(Transcript may be found below the episode player.)

#WeAreGIPS  

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: 

Podcast Intro  00:00

This is Grand Island Public Schools podcast, and these are our stories. We are learners. We are educators in teaching hearts as well as minds. We are 10,000 diverse voices, and we're changing the world together, one classroom at a time. These are our stories. We are GIPS. We are GIPS. Somos que y PE ese. We are GIPS. Somos GIPS. We are GIPS, and this is "The GIPS Cast".

 

Mitchell Roush  00:31

Welcome back to the GIPS cast, a conversation based podcast exploring the voices of Grand Island Public Schools in Nebraska. I'm your host. Mitchell Roush, the Communications Director here at GIPS, and as always, I'm grateful to bring to you stories from all corners of our district, because here we're driven by our mission of every student every day, a success.

 

Mitchell Roush  01:01

Laura Gamboa Urrego believes everyone should feel welcome in their hometown. Coming to Grand Island from the country of Colombia, as a kindergartener, she experienced firsthand the power of feeling welcome in a new space at her local public schools. As a student at Newell Elementary, walnut middle school and then Grand Island Senior High. She learned to speak English. She thrived in her educational journey thanks to incredible educators, and she found her passion for connecting with people in the community. Now, after graduation from Gish in 2016 she ventured to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where she earned degrees in Global Studies and Political Science and minored in human rights with her degrees in hand and a love for welcoming folks from around the world and a powerful story of finding her voice through the public schools, Laura headed back to her hometown of Grand Island to give back to the community that gave her so much, and that's where we find her today. Laura currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Stewart Museum, one of Grand Island's flagship organizations. She's garnered noteworthy experience as a community organizer and a connector the past few years, and most recently, she was recognized with the change maker award from the Grand Island YWCA, and also the statewide strengthening democracy award from civic Nebraska. Laura was kind enough to stop by and share her story with us on this podcast. See, every year we do an annual alumni series called Beyond GIPS. It features voices of noteworthy GIPS alumni sharing their journeys into their careers and in their communities. Because what makes the work of public education so meaningful is seeing how our students continue to make an impact after high school and Laura's story, it's definitely one worth hearing.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  03:10

So my name is Laura giempo orego, and I work for the stream museum as the director of community engagement.

 

Mitchell Roush  03:18

Thank you so much for being here. I'm excited to hang out with you. Thank you. Thank you so much for inviting me, Laura. As we talked about Off mic, part of what we do every year is we like to do an alumni feature series on this podcast, and we call it beyond GIPS, just because we love the feature stories of what our students are doing after high school. And so you are heavily involved in this community. I know this community means a lot to you, and I'm excited to hear your story. So first things first, just tell me, what do you do at the Stuart Museum?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  03:46

Okay, so at the stur Museum, I do. I still do basically what I've been doing, like involved with the community, basically expand the presence of the museum to the community, but also kind of fun, like create fun events at the museum, and kind of brainstorm what our community really wants right now, what we could do, collaboration as partnerships are with each other, so it's a lot of fun. It's very broad, and which I like, because there's so many things that we could do.

 

Mitchell Roush  04:18

Yeah, we're gonna get the deeper into your work, a little bit more, but I kind of just want to give you the chance to share a little bit about your experience in Grand Island Public Schools. So how did you get here, and where did you go to school?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  04:30

So I was born in boca de Colombia, and then my parents and my siblings and I moved to the United States in 23 from then, I was five years old, so I did all GIPS. I went through all the GIPS system. And yes, I've been to Newell walnut and granola and senior high.

 

Mitchell Roush  04:55

That's awesome. So Newell Knight, Walnut Wildcat and then an Islander. Yes, that is so cool. Me. And so you mentioned that you were born in Columbia, and you lived there for the first few years of your life, which is really neat. We like to say here at GIPS a lot that we've got the world at Grand Island Public Schools, and that's just so cool to me. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about that. So what, what was, what was that like to to go through the the ELL program and and come to school here in the States, and what? What was that experience like?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  05:28

It was very interesting. Um, back then, the new career program, or the ELL program, was very, very different from how it is now, because we were completely new to United States. Yeah, they really tried to fully immerse us into the English language a lot. So majority of my day, from what I remember, because, like, it's been years now, was learning English so, but also being with my classmates, it was very, very fun. I remember my I remember my ELL teacher. Her name was Mrs. Spies. She was super sweet for a while because we were new kids. She like really took us under her wing. And I remember she bought us gifts. She gave me the Candy Land game. I remember that it's a classic. It's a classic. I remember, we're confused, but it was, but it was fun, and it was very, very sweet. The The teachers are very sweet to my family, and I really willing to teach us and help guide us and make sure we were not falling behind. Yeah, yeah. So it was super sweet. I fell in love with Newell and my teachers, like Michelle Haas and Mrs. Spiehs, it was interesting. It was also quite a bit of a challenge back then, because the resources that we have now, like and especially the technology we have now, was not available back then, of course. So I remember they gave us like ideas of how I could improve or we could improve our English. One of the things that they said was just to really practice here at school, try to, like, keep my me and my brother to just talk English with each other, just because I have a twin brother. So me and my brother went through all JPS together, and they're in order to really, like learn English. They wanted us to while we're at school, I used to practice it, and which really, really helped us, because we, I mean, I can still speak Spanish, yeah, and I can read Spanish. And I'm not that fluent in Spanish, unfortunately. I mean, I grew up in United States, so, but I can write it. But, yeah, but they it was super nice being in, being in there and like them, how they really wanted to make sure we learned English and followed our passions. I remember at Noel, my brother wanted to be a scientist, yeah, and Mr. Wolfe, he was a principal. He they made my brother. His name is Jairo. Go talk to Mr. Wolfe, because back then, how ELL went was during natural sciences and social science. So between science and history, they took us out to learn English. So we didn't learn the basic social science and science. But my brother wanted to be a scientist a lot. So he convinced Mr. Wolf, so he could learn science, for him to be a science. Long story short, he's not a scientist right now.

 

Mitchell Roush  08:29

Fall through, but he got the experience.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  08:31

Mr. Wolfe, and they really tailored to other things we wanted to learn. And my at Newell, they were so supportive, because my parents worked a lot well. They didn't work a lot the their hours. They worked to support us, but their hours didn't work for the time we got out, got out of school, and I remember Gail, the Secretary there. She would ask if we were okay, and like they knew. And they would just be so nice to us and just wait. And they were so sweet and supportive to my parents. So I love my experience, my experience at new elementary.

 

Mitchell Roush  09:05

And that that shapes everything right. When you feel welcome and you feel like you belong there, even if there's a language barrier, you can still feel that. I'm not the least bit surprised to hear you say that about Mr. Wolf. He is still with us in the district, kind of he retired a couple of years ago, and then this year, he came out of retirement part time to fill in a vacancy we've got for we're in between principals at our preschool right now, so he's filling in at the preschool right now. I didn't know. Yeah, he's and he still juggles in the morning to welcome the kids.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  09:40

So I remember there were the SpongeBob SquarePants song.

 

Mitchell Roush  09:43

Yep, he loves that still absolutely but he he is. He's great at helping students get what they need and personalizing learning for students. So I am not the least bit surprised to hear you say my brother went to Mr. Wolf's office and they work something out.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  10:00

Yeah, unfortunately, not a scientist.

 

Mitchell Roush  10:03

That's all right? Well, community is really important to you. I know it is. That's, that's, that's what you do, yeah. And so I want to ask you, Laura, when you think about your time at GIPS, and you think about what you do now for the community that you grew up in, what's one thing that GIPS helped you discover that propelled you to where you are today?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  10:25

that's a really good question, just being through the whole system of how there is support there for you and there's people there for you. Like I said, I got a lot of support throughout my time, throughout GIPS, yeah, but definitely having support and being there for one another, which is what made me while I was at Newell. Well, while I entered walnut and granola Senior High, all my teachers were very supportive, and they also knew that because my parents were busy working, they were like, after school programs that we could do. My mom was very my parents are very adamant for us to be in after school programs. Yeah, and because of that support through my parents and through the teachers like and the school for having opportunities for us to do things after it really help, like, solidify my involvement with the community. That's what made me really want to give back. But also, like coming from Colombia, and like seeing how people just needed support, and we needed to be there for one another, sometimes all it takes is just like being around presence of other people, which is what made me like during my time at Grand Island Senior High, I was super involved in, like, Key Club. I was a president Key Club when I was there, and then I was then also wanting to capture memories and just be involved, but not just for myself, but with others and like, hear other people's stories and see how life could be so different, and everybody's path is so different when you're in high school and then when you're in Walnut, people play basketball, meet. I did basketball, volleyball, I did practically everything. Don't do sports now, or in High School either.

 

Mitchell Roush  12:18

But that shapes your experience, right? You're you're building friendships, you're learning how to be a part of a team. You're learning how to take direction and coaching, right? Plus, you're just having fun being a kid and playing a sport or doing an activity, or being in a club, like all of that shapes you know, who you become as an adult.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  12:39

I definitely agree, because that involvement really helped. I mean, most of the things I've done because of being involved, so involved when I was in high school, it helped me be involved right now in Grand Island. Yes, most of the people are still involved right now as an adult, and it's so nice to work with them, both of us as adults now for our community, so definitely.

 

Mitchell Roush  13:04

It makes a difference, and that that's really cool to hear. And so you talked a little bit about some of the things you were involved in at Senior High. What else sticks out to you, specifically about your Islander experience at the high school?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  13:15

The first thing I'm thinking is the classes. Yeah, I throughout my time in high school, one of the biggest things, and like for my parents too, my parents made the whole journey of coming here, and my teachers were very supportive of us. So for me, I really wanted to work hard for them, but for myself also. So when I think back about Grand Island Senior High and like, how my experience, I remember really hard classes.

 

Mitchell Roush  13:45

I mean, you told me, you told me Off mic. You took a bunch of AP courses and stuff too, right? So, like, you were working hard.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  13:51

I was working really hard, AP and CCC, and I remember working really, really hard for it, because I wanted to learn everything that I could, just because I feel like I wanted to take opportunity of that time, because I know later on in life, I'm definitely going to need math and like some skills or some facts are so beneficial to know. So when I think back, it's just I think back of how much I was involved and how stress I was I mean, I'm involved now in the community, but how stressful and fun it was in high school as just a student to see it be paid off. Now as an adult, where now I did that as a student, to be able to get college paid for and go to college and everything. And now as an adult, I can see my hard work paid off, yes, and now I'm just working because, I mean, you need to work to live.

 

Mitchell Roush  14:45

That's it, yeah, like that. And I, I think you, you capture that really well. Like, I taught, I talked to our teachers all the time. And, like, that's what we're doing, right? We're trying, we're trying to help students, not just figure out what they love and to grow. Academically, but to also just continue to cultivate into the best version of themselves and to be confident in the way you engage the world and so being busy in high school, of course, you're learning time management, you're learning you're learning how to be creative. You're learning all of these you're doing all of these things outside of just what you're learning with the homework assignments, exactly.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  15:25

And definitely the skills of like managing my time between taking AP CCC when I was in high school and then the after school activities I was involved in, and then going to work is at a part time job, yeah, definitely those are good skills I still use now, being able to manage my time, also having some good boundaries, but also making sure, like, to have fun, and even like throughout time, like, I just have to, like, alter, change some things, because, like, I mean, the world's changing. Technology changing. So technology now is making things a little bit more easier, especially with calendars.

 

Mitchell Roush  16:01

Syncing calendars, oh, man, gotta have it.

 

GIPS COMMERCIAL  16:17

We have the world at Grand Island Public Schools. We are learners, we are teachers, we are doers, we are dreamers, we are students, we are singers, we are athletes, we are speakers, We are builders, we are crafters, we are listeners, we are helpers, we are entrepreneurs, we are artisans, we are coaches, we are counselors, we are servers, we are thinkers, we are lifters, we are culture makers, we are counters, we are sculptors, we are leaders, we are educators, we are readers, We are scientists, we are mathematicians, we are scholars. We are 10,000 families, stories and voices in teaching, hearts as well as minds. We are changing the world together, one classroom, one lesson, one opportunity, one game, one match, one concert, one equation, one book, one question, one connection, one day at a time, we are the present. We are the future. We are public school proud. We are GIPS.

 

Mitchell Roush  17:48

You're a product of GIPS, which is great. We're proud of you and you also, you know, are heavily invested in being a part of making this community better as well, too. So I'd love to hear your your feedback, Laura, what's one thing you hope to see from GIPS in the coming years?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  18:08

Well, I know GIPS has changed a lot. Yeah. I mean, I graduated 2016 like we talked about, um, oh, no. I think, I think everything that's going on is such great change. I really do the only thing, I mean, I really don't know. I know, like the newcomer system has changed. There's a lot more, not like there wasn't before, but like, there's a whole newcomer system now in place. And like to come i You guys are doing all the right paths that I can see for me. I would love as my role now and being involved. I would love more, and I think we have some, but like more partnerships within the community. Yeah, I know the museum we have, like kids, our volunteer and to our railroad town, but also, I think it's it's nice to have the kids see the investment of like volunteering in certain places in our town, which I know through Key Club, there is a lot of opportunities, because there are opportunities given to us when I was in Key Club, but ways to have, like GIPS, be spread out everywhere, because we are, I mean, we are as, like, I work for JPS, we're everywhere. No, but like you guys are. But I the things are changing so fast and so often. And I know, like, through talking to kids that are in high school and everything, a lot of them sometimes don't even know some community. Some community events are going on. Yeah, and a lot of support as like working in nonprofit, I know we have been doing so many things for the community also, and we have a lot of newcomers and a lot of JPS families that come and attend. But I also think. Like having, like, all of us support each other and like different capacity, more, maybe a capacity of a capacity, than we're doing now, I think would be really great to build that community, bonding with one another.

 

Mitchell Roush  20:13

I think that's great insight, right, especially when you think about our high school students, right? We've got 2700 students at our high school, and there's lots of opportunities for them to discover cool things that are happening in the community, or to volunteer to be a part of it. So yeah, I think you're on to something. There's definitely opportunity for us to be even better in helping our kids get plugged into ways to give back to the community, or ways to discover cool things to do.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  20:42

Yeah, and we would love, like, I would love to anything people have ideas with, I know as a museum right now, my my goal is to collect the story of us, like, so this podcast, probably not mine, but like, podcast collecting their stories, because, like, right now we're we're making history, also absolutely and especially through kids. Like, I wish back then there are records right now, through the museum and other museums. But like, I would love to know how I was to be a high schooler in the 1990s 1980s and like, yearbooks are a great one, but like collecting those stories and getting those insights. And then I think even like that, I think from learning from that to now, it all we can do is, like, learn from each other, but also get that insight of like, what we can do together to move on for like, to move forward and build that more community partnership.

 

Mitchell Roush  21:42

We're making history together. I really, I really like that. I really like that. That's such a good way to frame it, because we are, yeah, we are. So Laura, I want to talk a little bit more about your career, if that's all right, you know. So you go through high school, you go to UNL. You said you majored in Global Studies and Political Science, and then got a minor in human rights right, and then you came back here. Yes. So why was it important for you to not only study those programs to get your degree, to get those skills and to bring that back to Grand Island? Why is that important to you?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  22:15

So I studied global science and Political Science and minor in human rights just because I first global studies, I love learning about people's different cultures, on different systems, and just how there's more to life than the environment, the bubble that we're in, and especially here in Grand Island, I know there's like, around, like 56 more countries or languages spoken here.

 

Mitchell Roush  22:45

We have over 50 in the district alone.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  22:49

And like, learning from each one. And then also, I'm a big lover of food.

 

Mitchell Roush  22:54

You want to talk about something that unifies everybody, right?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  23:01

And I think especially coming here as a as an immigrant, and knowing that there's a lot more to life, you know, so that, that's why I chose Global Studies and then political science, from being from Colombia and seeing how sometimes politics interferes a lot with our community, it does, and then sometimes injustices get in the way, and we see people get mistreated. There are ways to go around, and that's why I wanted to learn the laws and the system so global studies and then human rights I we all are do right as human beings, one of my biggest pet peeves that I know happened in other countries doesn't really happen here United States. It's like, when you have to pay to use a toilet paper, I don't think that's right, right.

 

Mitchell Roush  23:49

Like, we should all just agree that that's a basic need everyone, everyone should have access to that.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  23:55

Like, that's a basic, basic out of the basics. Like, I also think people should have, like, the right to have time off, you know, yeah, like, stuff like that. But learning all that, it from my experiences, like growing up also, like, I just think there's so many things that we could do together. And like, I felt like those encompassed it really well. And then coming to Grand Island, a lot of things. This is a community I grew up in, the community that literally was welcoming to me as a kid. From being to my family was very important to me, and I knew Grand Island pretty well, yeah. But also my my family is here. My parents are here. I have nephews now so that are gonna enter the JPS system. Speak to Anna. That's nice. Is there for me? It was just important to be by them also, and I wanted the community to Maryland's very welcoming, but I also know there's things that we could do to be more welcoming with one another. Yeah, and there. And that's why I'm for me, it's a big with the us working together as a community through different sectors, like having, like, through different sectors, as in, like, all of Grand Island downtown, Fourth Street. Fourth Street has so much to offer, yeah, so knowing all that, and then what really, really pushed me, like, Oh, you're moving to Grand Island, was covid, covid, right? When I was about to graduate college, covid hit. And then everything were virtual. And then I was asked, like, why don't you just come take classes here? You know, we have food, you have a roof. And I'm like, okay, not a bad idea. Bad idea. And then I did, but then, and then I started finding a job. But it all worked out. It was all part of the plan. I mean, everything happens for a reason, and I really do think for here in Grand Island, like, like I mentioned before, I already had people that I knew, and the support that that was there for me through the relationships I had here throughout GIPS. I mean, my whole life before college was GIPS, yeah, so to now, and having all these these majors, and then doing what I do now just really helps me focus on like different ways that we can work together to support one another in our like different ethnicities that we have here. My biggest dream would be to have something relate to professionally, like for stir, encompass all of our stories, all our different walks. Paths are all of our different paths in life, of lives, and then walks of life, all of our different walks of life, but also really highlight the diversity here, yep, through food, like I am, very, very big advocate about food, definitely, like all those just made me want to work here in our community with my friends, and I've created new friends from it to people that are very passionate for our community.

 

Mitchell Roush  27:06

You're saying a lot of good things. And so I think about who actually lives here? Yeah, right, who are the families we're serving? And I look and and this is a great thing. I think this is a great thing. Over a quarter of our students in the district are in our English language learners or in our newcomers program, you know? Yeah, I think that's awesome, yeah. And such a cool opportunity for all of us to learn from each other. My my kids get to learn from their friends that aren't from here, and vice versa, right? And they're, I think you're on to something, right? Like, this isn't a novel thing, but like, it's, it's important to remember that that needs to seep out into the community as well, and not just be a rich experience in the schools, but a rich experience everywhere in Grand Island.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  27:51

No, I definitely agree. I think all the kids that I've encountered in, like, even when I was at gaps, like, the stories are diversity, and then also, like the culture they carry. Yeah, for me, it's, it's so important, and we it needs to be embraced. One of the things I'm working with through the welcoming initiative is bring, bringing back the ethnic Festival Grand Island used to have, oh, cool, yeah. So I can get a little nerd moment.

 

Mitchell Roush  28:23

Do it. Go for it!

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  28:26

Grand Island, we used to have an essential Nebraska ethnic Festival, and we were one of the first ones in the state to have one. And then we stopped in 2011 we stopped I really liked from what and I never attended, even though I came here to is in three I never attended the ethnic festival. But to have something like that right now, and have the kids we have, like, we said, like, there's 56 different ethnicities or cultures represented, but we're not showcasing all those ethnicities, and to have them be showcased either by, I promise I don't eat that much, but I do eat that much, either by food or by crafts or by dances or by there's so many ways that culture really integrates into our lives and to how they're represented, and that's what we're trying to bring back to Grand Island showcase the different dances, the different languages and and just really enrich those the stories of those kids and showcases the showcase it through storytelling. Yes, for me, is one of the most important things, because I me being from Colombia, I did not grow around my culture.

 

Mitchell Roush  29:36

You moved here at such a young age.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  29:41

Yeah, and it for me, it makes me sad. I was, I was sad as a kid because I my friends were Mexican. But even though we're all we all speak Spanish and we're all Hispanic or Latino, we are some things were just different. We eat sometimes, like irepas, I don't. Eat tortillas. Yeah, we don't eat spicy food. They do, like, just like those things.

 

Mitchell Roush  30:06

All of that matters, right? Like, that does matter. That may feel like a nuance, but like, that's culture. Like, culture lives in that nuance, and that is, that is intrinsic to who you are and where you're from, right? And so, like, you laugh about, I don't eat food all the time, but like, food, music and art are just natural gateways for people to enter into understanding other cultures and to being exposed into other cultures. And that's I think that's why things like food and music and dancing and art, those things like that gap people gather around for that, and you learn.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  30:42

Yeah, like, culture is just so upbeat, yeah, you feel happy after you eat, you know. And then you feel happy after you listen to music you like. And just imagine, like, you know, having all that and having it from someone like, who that's their culture. And like you me seeing someone appreciate my culture, like, Oh, wow. It feels so nice, and it feels it makes people feel seen. And I think now, I think that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to make people that come from wherever, wherever part of the world. I mean, there's so many, there's so many countries really feel seen in Grand Island, yeah, and through all those wonderful things, that's that's the goal that I have for Grand Island, and I have for the museum, and I know me and Chris have talked for the museum, but also to this global Roots Festival. That's what we want everyone to feel seen and represented and appreciated. Because we really we have that a lot more around us than we think, but we just don't have the context to it. Like, globalization is a thing, yeah, sushi is not from here, right?

 

Mitchell Roush  31:50

Like, it doesn't matter where you come from. Everyone deserves to feel seen and represented and heard, yeah, and especially in your home community. And if we have an opportunity to celebrate where everyone's coming from, why not do that exactly, and that's what we're attempting to do in our classrooms, right? Like we want, because like kids do best when they feel like they belong. Yes, and I feel like adults probably do too.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  32:19

No, I agree. I think it's just a human thing. We all feel better when we know we belong and we feel comfortable and we're we're more receptive to like as a kid, I know when my teachers were learning about my family's story and my culture and everything, it made me feel comfortable to ask questions. It made me more receptive to learn, because I felt accepted, and my guard went down to like, learn everything I could, yeah, because they made it feel safe.

 

Mitchell Roush  32:52

And that that speaks to so many things, like we talk get nerdy education for a second. Like we talk at the district level all the time about like, if we want to, if we want to see better attendance in school. Well, it's not about attendance. It's about what are we doing to help students feel like they belong? Yeah? Because if a student feels like they belong, guess what, they're probably going to want to go to school more. Yeah, right. And those things are connected. And to your point, that bleeds over into adulthood too.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  33:20

Yeah, it does. I always think like one of my one of the teachers I really hit my heart was Miss Lorenzen in Grand Island Senior High, and she was so supportive of everything, and she she taught me a lot of great things that lead into my adulthood and really influenced me. She was my English teacher, and she we were talking about, she asked me about my family and everything, and we were very close, but one of the things that she said was like, words carry last more than actions. Yeah, and that's very, very true. You will always remember what people say to you. And obviously we have actions, but actions are there for the moment, and then we kind of move on. But the words people say just literally last a lifetime, and words are in the history, and history is here for a lifetime. The war has happened, but we have the written word to remember it by.

 

Mitchell Roush  34:22

The words we choose and don't choose are so important. So Laura, we could do this a long time, but for the sake of our listeners and everything right as we wrap up the conversation, I would love to ask you the same question that I ask everybody that guests on this podcast, because I'm always fascinated by the answers. And I close every interview this way. Doesn't matter if it's one of our students, staff members, alumni, whoever, right? And that is what is one thing about public education, you want people to know?

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  34:52

How much it's needed. I think now I think I know, I know a lot of families. I. Come here for public education. I know the I know public education needs a lot more support than people think. Just because it's public and we again, I just include myself into everything. You're a part of us. It's okay. Thank you. But just because you, you do receive money from government that does not or not government, but you know what I mean, like taxes and everything that does not mean you don't have bills to pay or you don't have more needs to cover. I know. I know there's a lot more the that this public school system needs at times, and we need a lot more support for it, and how much help it has. I would not be here today if I did not receive public education with everything it covers, from extracurricular activities to the support kids to like scholarships and everything. It helps out a lot more than people think, and it leads a lot more support now more than ever, where money's getting harder to come by, and our community needs a lot more support than ever. And I just hope that people really know how much the public schools and public system does, because I do think sometimes we just don't tend to think about it. Once we graduate, we're like, Okay, we're done, right? And we don't look back. But like, even though we don't have kids, like, it's helping, and it's helping a lot. Your neighbor, your Well, if you don't have kids, you don't have grandkids, but your neighbor, your nephews, your cousins and elite it needs a lot more support, and it in a lot of more community support behind it, too, and a lot of a lot of community inputs, I know from working like nonprofit, when we ask a community question and no one says anything, you're like, all right? And then once, but then you want the community feedback. You want to know what what you want, and how are you supposed to know if no one speaks? So definitely, it's a community effort. Also it's public. It's a community driven and it's community supported, and it's community it's helping the community back.

 

Mitchell Roush  37:12

Yeah, that is a good word, and I grateful to hear you, hear you say that, but you're you're absolutely right. Public education is so meaningful to every community. Yeah, and people rely on it. Wonderful. Laura, thank you so much for being here. It was great to chat with you, to hear your story. Thank you so much. We're proud of you here at Grand Island Public Schools, but thank you for everything you're doing for the community.

 

Laura Gamboa Urrego  37:36

Thank you for inviting me.

 

Mitchell Roush  37:42

Thank you again to Laura Gamboa urego for joining us on "The GIPS Cast"; for sharing her story, and, more importantly, for all the great things that she is doing to help people feel welcome and connected in the community of Grand Island. And of course, thank you listeners for joining us on this podcast, we always appreciate you listening along and engaging with the stories we're sharing, because our community is only as strong as our public schools and vice versa. So if you enjoy this podcast, or you enjoyed this episode, we invite you to give us a rating or review on your favorite podcast platform, whether that's Apple podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you listen to us, giving us a rating or a review will help other people discover us along the way. As always, check out our website, gips.org That's www.gips.org that is your hub for information, updates, stories, resources and everything that you need from Grand Island Public Schools. Thank you again, listeners for joining us here at the GIPS cast. We will be coming back at you soon with more stories from our district. 

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