Today we’d like to introduce you to Candice Gary.
Hi Candice, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Candice Gary. I was born in 1980 in Moab, Utah. I honestly didn’t think I’d end up in Moab. If you had told me ten years ago that I would be building a house in Moab with Community Rebuilds and teaching Specialized Instruction at the Moab Charter School, I would have laughed at you. Life has its own ideas sometimes and I generally go with the flow. I grew up in SLC and lived there through my 20s. I worked as a pharmacy technician at Smith’s and at Albertson’s/Fresh Market for almost 15 years and probably would have stayed if my store wasn’t closed. I decided to look at this as an opportunity and moved to St. George to study at Utah Tech. I soon discovered that I did not want to work in pharmacy anymore and re-kindled my love of pottery. I graduated with a degree in Ceramics and Sculpture from Utah Tech and moved to Moab to care for my grandfather. He needed round-the-clock care due to multiple multiple diseases he developed from uranium exposure. I lived with him and was his primary caretaker for five months before he passed. I ended up staying in Moab and getting a job at Moab Charter School as a paraprofessional, mostly because it was steady non-seasonal work in Moab. I ended up loving working with children and decided to make it a career. I started as the art and music paraprofessional and then moved on to be the Title 1 Reading Specialist. I then moved to be the Special Education para. Now, I am the SpEd teacher, but we don’t call it ‘SpEd’ at MCS. We call it ‘SpIn’ or Specialized Instructi0n. We decided to change it because sometimes ‘SpEd’ can have negative connotations and we provide specialized instructi0n, so why not call it that? I love our school culture of inclusivity here.
While I love my job, living in Moab has its complications. The housing market is insane and it is hard to even find an affordable place to rent. There aren’t enough places to live here, even if you could afford them. I really, really wanted to stay in Moab, so I applied to all the housing assistance programs 0ffered here and I was selected to receive a house in Arroyo Crossing, a new development here. One thing that makes my community amazing is that it is the only one in Moab that requires all of its inhabitants to be part of the Moab community and workf0rce. People can’t buy a house for a non-primary residence and it can not be used for a nightly rental. I am building my house with Community Rebuilds, a non-profit that helps our community members build affordable houses. I am in the first wave 0f houses to be built. We are supposed to move in by the end of September 2022.
Helping Community Rebuilds build my home has been challenging. They require 25 hours of work a week from each of the homeowners. I am currently enrolled in Special Education classes at USU as well. With work, school, and building a house, I have had limited time to do anything else. In the home stretch of this journey, I have been telling myself what I tell my students to motivate them and help them feel good about themselves. Whenever I get discouraged, I tell myself, “I can do hard things.” “I can do anything that I set my mind to.” “I might not have done what I wanted to, but I did well.” “Progress is progress, no matter how small it is!” I am so grateful that I got this opportunity to better my life and to help enrich my community at the same time. I am also excited to see how my new neighborhood develops in the coming years. I have some dreams for that too! There are plans to build a community center and I would love to start an afterschool art studio for local youth there! Moab is a great place to live and I hope that neighborhoods like my future one will become the norm. Everyone needs an affordable place to live.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have had many obstacles and challenges in my life. Lately, it has been trying to balance my work and school and the building of my house.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the Specialized Instruction teacher at Moab Charter School.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My mentors for teaching have been my district coach and boss, Patsy Milligan. Also, my school director Carrie Ann Smith is a mentor. These women are fabulous people and strive to make the world a better place every day. They are great educators and friends.
