Page 27 - DistWomenMS_2025

Gabrielle was born on December 12, 1995, to Russell and Shari Hyde in Birmingham, Alabama. Her built-in best friend, Sarah Danielle, was born in August 1997; her family was completed with the addition of Russell Andrew II, born in April 2001.
While in high school, she was formally introduced to the Spanish language, which has changed her life for the better. Gabrielle had a teacher named Mrs. Murphy for 11th grade Spanish, and she did something for her that every teacher wants to be able to do for their students—she made her care. On the first day of classes, she had a presentation that included data about language growth in the United States and how much good we could bring to our communities if we were able to communicate using the fastest-growing language in the U.S. Gabrielle was hooked. Thus began her love for language learning.
Gabrielle accepted Christ as her Savior during the spring of her senior year of high school. Her mom and dad had been providing medical care to Palestine for a few years, and her mom asked if she could come help her. That spring, she was baptized in the Jordan River, and her name was changed from Taylor to Gabrielle, which means “God is my strength” or “strong woman of God.” When someone says her name, it is a constant reminder of who she is and Whose she is.
In the fall of that year, she went to Mississippi College University in Clinton, Mississippi. She majored in Elementary Education and minored in Spanish. While in college, Gabrielle became a member of Nenamoosha, joined the theatre honor society Alpha Psi Omega (ΑΨΩ), and studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain, at Colegio Delibes. Full immersion in a Spanish-speaking country is where she credit the majority of her Spanish language acquisition. During student teaching, she observed at Spann Elementary School under Mrs. Kimberly Burt and then at Pecan Park Elementary School under Ms. Sholanda Stewart. Pecan Park sparked her fire for English Language Learning, and she knew that being an ELL teacher was her next goal. While working as a third-grade teacher at Casey Elementary School, she took the TESOL Praxis and transferred to Boyd Elementary School to be the ELL teacher. When an EL position opened up at Pecan Park and Mrs. Quon, the PPES principal, reached out asking if she would like the position, she could not have said yes fast enough.
During her time as an EL teacher, Gabrielle has had the most incredible mentor in her PPES co-teacher, Mrs. Charlotte Alford Starks. She generously took her under her wing and assisted her in ensuring the first years as an EL teacher were a success. As the years have passed, Gabrielle’s love for this position has only grown. She went back to school at Western Governors University and received a master’s in Teaching English Language Learning. She is well aware of how blessed she is to wake up every morning and feel joyful about her job. Gabrielle’s students and their families have taught her so much about community, hard work, and dedication. These little ones are more than just her students. They are a part of her family and her goal is to serve them to the best of her ability and to make sure their voices are heard until they are capable of speaking for themselves. The opportunity to work with these children during the duration of their time in elementary school gives her the unique opportunity to really connect with the students and their families. The amount of love and pride she has for them is something that she was not expecting but wholly accept into her life. These students have changed her for the better and have shown her how anything is possible when you put your mind to it. Her students are her greatest joys and achievements, and she thanks God every day for the blessing of being their maestra.
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