English teacher Liz Garza’s journey to CHS a storied one

Adriana Flores, Reporter

As 39 year old, Elizabeth Garza, explains her life as an English teacher, she quickly types on the keyboard.  “I love storytelling,” she says, while looking around Room 353 to find the right words.

“I am the oldest of two younger sisters,” she says with a smile. Garza is a local, born and raised in the Inland Empire; coming to Colton everyday to be the open-minded teacher she is.

Not only is Elizabeth Garza the English teacher everybody knows and loves, but she’s not the kind just to hand out assignments or sit around and grade papers. She is quite the opposite!  “I help friends and family with questions on education,” she says. (Typical right?) “Of course I help the ones in need, I give advice to the people I see who need it on talking to a counselor or if not me. And obviously I help the students who need a tutor, i mean that is my job, isn’t it?”

As the typing stops and the thinking is starting to begin, Garza places a hand on her mouth, “I thought it was going to be easy and I liked playing teacher when I was little. I’ve worked with teens almost my whole life, mostly in church, and it kind of comes naturally to me.”

Her father has had the biggest impact in her life. “He just offers good advice in general and we talk a lot about work,” she said with a look of happiness and joy when remembering what he has done for her.

But that look suddenly turned into fear when explaining the experience she has had with heights and swerving. “I am afraid to fall. One day I swerved to avoid a dog on the road, and I spun out; when I spun out I saw a car coming in my direction.” Readjusting herself to her comfort, she slowly notes, “…that scared the crap out of me,” the look of seriousness in her face soon turns into relief as she takes a deep breath to let go of that memory.

“Nobody really introduced me into teaching, I just knew it was for me. I like to be bossing people around I guess,” she jokes. As Garza’s laugh trails off, the English teacher known as Ms. Garza finishes with, “You don’t have to agree with my opinions, but at least respect that I have my opinions.”

The lesson that was taught today, while sitting at this desk with the teacher from room 353, was that you need don’t to look back at your teachers and say ‘they were horrible’ just say ‘I didn’t get along with them for whatever reason.’