Cassandra Gomez is new to the Yamhill Carlton school district as of this 2024-25 school year. She moved from the California Bay Area to Salem, Oregon, over the summer. Gomez explained what gave her the push to move and how hectic her summer was.
“Two years ago I came up here for my best friend’s wedding. She got married in Independence. I came in early November, so all of the trees were changing colors, and it was just stunning. So my then boyfriend, now husband, and I decided that when we left California, this is where we were going to come, and that’s when we started saving to make the move,” she said.
Not only did Gomez move over the summer but she also married and became a homeowner. She described her move from teaching in California to Oregon as drastic. She went on to give information about her past.
“I was an only child. My mom passed away just before I turned two. So for a lot of my life, it was just my dad and I obviously with other family members, kind of helping out from time to time,” Gomez said.
She mentioned how her interest in reading began around this time. She spoke of being an editor for her high school journalism class. Outside of her school work, she did not have a job.
“I did not have to work when I was in high school. At the time, I lived with my grandmother, and when I was a junior, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. So for about a year or so, my main concern was getting my driver’s license so that if she couldn’t find someone to take her to chemo, I would do that for her,” she said.
By the time she was in eighth grade, she knew she wanted to teach. She only knew in her freshman year that she’d be teaching English. She wished to teach at the high school level but wasn’t lucky enough to do so until now.
“I feel like you guys kind of have an understanding of what you like, what you don’t like, what you’re good at, what you’re not, and you’re able to communicate those things much better than kids who are still pre-teens can,” she said.
