Gabriela Núñez Whitemarsh, a bilingual educator with 18 years of experience at both the college level and in K–12 public schools, is Washington’s 2026 State Teacher of the Year. She’s a changemaker, problem solver and bilingual math maven, and she shared her story with UW Magazine.
I was the first one in my family to go to college. My parents thought I should go to medical school. I wanted to be a teacher. At the UW, I found the courage to follow my dream.
My parents immigrated from Mexico, and I always felt a responsibility to achieve and make a difference.
At Pasco High School, there were few Latino or bilingual students taking advanced math classes. When I came back years later to teach, that problem still existed, so I started teaching algebra for Latin American newcomers to the U.S. and pulled from my own experiences and educational background.
The growth that happens between the ages of 14 and 18 is unlike any other time in your life. It’s an honor to be part of a young person’s journey at the moment they’re identifying who they are and finding what drives them.
I love the problem-solving aspect of math. There are many entry points and ways to approach a problem or puzzle. You keep at it until you work it out. There are so many parallels to life.
At the UW, the proof-based math classes affected how I see life.
Scott Pinkham from the Minority Scholars in Engineering Program was a huge influence on me. He’s the reason I didn’t drop out freshman year. I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it would be.
The UW was such a special time in my life. I discovered who I was through American Ethnic Studies classes with professor Erasmo Gamboa. I hadn’t been taught Chicano history in high school. It was the first time I felt like I belonged in the U.S.
Pasco welcomed my family and gave me the opportunity to pursue my dream and to give back. There was no question I’d come back so that what was given to me could be given back to others. There’s no place I’d rather be.