Dr. Nalei Guzman joins Westridge as an Upper School Spanish teacher, previously having taught virtually for Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. After teaching online school, she is delighted to be teaching in person at Westridge. “[Teaching online] impacts the education as well as the overall classroom dynamic and experience. I really enjoy [being in the classroom],” Dr. Guzman said. 

She was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the U.S. when she was only three and a half years old. Dr. Guzman earned her Masters and Ph.D at the University of California, Irvine and Bachelors from University of California, Riverside in Spanish. Before teaching at Salve Regina University, she taught at Mayfield Senior for five years, so teaching at an all-girls school is familiar to her. Dr. Guzman has been teaching Spanish for 12 years and will enter her 13th year teaching Spanish this year at Westridge. 

Dr. Guzman has been open with her students, especially about her medical condition, epilepsy. “I like to tell my students that I have epilepsy because if I were ever to have a seizure, I wouldn’t want them to be scared,” she said.

Luckily, Dr. Guzman’s seizures do not affect her daily life because she can control them through medication. Dr. Guzman accepts that her epilepsy is a part of her and something she will have to live with. However, she does not let that define her as a person. “They’re part of what we deal with. But it’s not the only part of your identity. It’s one aspect of it, but it’s not the only part of it. And even if it is a part of your identity, I think that it’s not something to be ashamed of, or scared of, or sad,” she said.

In moments where she finds herself in need of relaxation, Dr. Guzman likes to do yoga and meditate. She also loves to hang out with her friends and family. She is the eldest of four siblings and adores spending time with her niece and nephews. Whenever she gets free time, Dr. Guzman loves to dance, specifically salsa dancing. She also enjoys laid-back activities like watching silly rom-coms and suspenseful mystery movies or doing art with oil and chalk pastels.

Something Dr. Guzman really appreciates about independent schools are teachers’ ability to create and plan their own lessons. That way, she can incorporate not only her specific needs or values in teaching but also her students’ needs. Dr. Guzman recounted that one of her fondest memories of teaching happened recently at Westridge. Her class had to learn a song about Spanish conjunctions, and it was a fun, productive activity for both her and her students. From activities like this, Dr. Guzman is able to appreciate how eager Westridge students are to learn. “I love how dynamic my students are here at Westridge and that they’re open to new activities and they’re just willing to try something new and have a lot of fun with it.”