Gila Belsky Modell ’09

Alumni Voices

Gila Belsky Modell ’09

Beaver Reflections:
I started at Beaver in 6th grade and went all the way through, and I loved it, Beaver was a really, really good place for me. I really benefited from the small class sizes and the individual attention, and also the tight community. Beaver was my family. My best friends to this day are still my Beaver friends. I still keep in touch with some of my teachers. Mr. Greenberg was my middle school advisor and a huge mentor to me through Beaver. When I graduated from college I would still go back to him. I had so many leadership opportunities, including being class president, and in general, I think Beaver did a great job advocating for diversity and inclusion.

What is #happeningnow in your life:
After college, I went on to teach 8th-grade math in Miami through Teach for America. Then I moved to New York to continue teaching math. After that, I went to graduate school and got my Master’s in school counseling. I intended to be a school counselor but my husband and I moved to California. We got here at the end of the school year and I got a job at a clothing store for the summer. I developed a really good relationship with the owner who hired me full-time to run operations and HR. Now I am involved with the store’s e-commerce and marketing and helping them grow the business. Working in retail has definitely been a challenge throughout the pandemic. Luckily we worked on our website pre-COVID and have adapted to the current circumstances.

“Beaver is the type of place that listens. If you want your voice to be heard, it will be heard.”

– Gila Belsky Modell ’09

Advice to current Beaver students:
Take advantage of every opportunity and don’t let “no” stop you. Speak up and make a change.

Beaver Country Day School admits qualified students of any race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, handicap status, national origin or ethnicity to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, handicap status, national origin or ethinicity in the administration of its educational, admission, financial aid, athletic or other school-administered programs or policies.