Gabe Galarza

Adelia Ladson

Nov. 7, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- MOULTRIE -- Gabe Galarza, a senior at Colquitt County High School, is on a pretty tight schedule during the week, splitting his time between going to school, working out, going to church and working at the Colquitt County Arts Center.

"Pretty much my life revolves around those things right now," he said.

Galarza was born in Kissimmee, Fla., and then lived in Hialeah, Fla., near Miami, until 2000 when his family moved to Funston. He and his family, which includes an older sister, now live in Moultrie.

He said the choice was made to move to this area after a visit to his uncle who was living here.

"I was just dragged along I guess. It's all right, I'm okay with it," he said laughing.

He said his mother loved the way there were trees lining the roads because it reminded her of Cuba, where she and his father are from. He said his mother grew up on a farm in the woods of Cuba and his grandfather and some of his relatives still live there today. He has more family who live in Florida.

"They were one of the first ones (of his family) who came to the United States," he said of his parents.

He said he has made a couple of visits to Cuba in the past to the farm that his relatives own and said they were still growing different varieties of fruit.

"But if you really think about it, you don't own it," he said.

He said the government could come in and decide to move a doctor into a home and relocate the current residents somewhere else because everything is "communal."

"Communism," he said.

He said most of the country lives in poverty and when he visited with what he considered very little money, he still had a lot of money by Cuban standards.

"We do our best to send money and help get them out of the poverty," he said.

His mother is a teller at Southwest Georgia Bank and his father works, from home, translating documents.

Galarza credits his parents and way they raised him for how he carries himself. He said he's really close with his family.

"It's like a bond between us," he said.

An important part of his life is his participation in his church, where he has preached from the pulpit and from house to house, he said. He said this has helped him to be confident in giving speeches and said he had won three or four speech contests when he was in middle school.

"Church has really helped me out in that. ... The speech part, I'm good at," he said.

He also said the way his church lessons were designed has helped him a lot with his reading comprehension skills. He laughingly said that he really doesn't like to read and finds it to be a chore.

"I'm more of a math and science person," he said.

Galarza said that he is pursuing a computer technology path in school and is interested in a career in computer forensics or engineering software and hardware. He said he wants to attend Moultrie Technical College and then later transfer to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

He said he wanted to get into the computer technology field because everything was headed that way in the future. Being practical, he believed it would be easier for him to find a job in this field. He said he would like to move to a moderate-sized city and had no aspirations of moving back to Miami, where his relatives live.

He is enrolled in the work study program at the high school and said he really likes it.

"The cool thing about the school system here is that they will help you find a job in the area you are studying," he said.

He added that they had helped his sister find a job.

He said although he liked the work study program, he missed the teachers and the school atmosphere and would sometimes hang around in different teachers' class rooms and help out even after he was allowed to leave for the day.

"It's the letting go," he said sincerely.

He said school has been such a large part of his life that it was hard for him to imagine just getting up in the morning and going to work instead of school.

"I have a lot to thank them for," he added.

About two years ago, when Galarza was 16, he got a worker's permit and a couple of days later started working part-time at the Colquitt County Arts Center. Bill Acuff, who was a board member, had introduced him to Jeff Ophime, director of the arts center, when the center was looking for someone to help with janitorial services.

"I like it because of its flexibility and they are really nice here," he said.

He said his employers believed that school came first, so the hours he works reflects that. He said he felt that he has had so many opportunities working at the arts center to experience new things.

He told of how he was glad to be able to meet and talk with the international artists who were in residence a couple of years ago. The artists came from various countries and stayed at the arts center for a week.

"I wouldn't have been able to do that if I was working at McDonald's," he said.

He said when he looks at what his friends have to "put up with" in their jobs, he really appreciates working at the arts center.

"I've been able to learn a lot of other things, too," he said.

He said that he doesn't just help with cleaning but he has given tours to visitors, helped in the office, and assisted during various events. He said he has learned many different skills at the center.

"That's going to help me later on," he added.

Galarza said his schedule is pretty full during the week and he seems to put 100 percent in to each aspect of it.

"It alternates between work or church. I've gotten used to it so it's not that bad. I'm not complaining. I'm always doing something. ... I just keep trying to do the right thing," he said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0483-39527439