Gisela Iribarren-Lopez
Gisela Iribarren-Lopez is a new psychologist at the high school. She was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in various locations throughout the United States. Iribarren-Lopez enjoys drawing comics, listening to jazz and learning to play the harp. She looks forward to helping students overcome their struggles and problems during their time at the high school.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Puerto Rico and I spent the first 10 years of my life there, but I’m kind of from all over. After those 10 years I went to middle school and then high school in New Jersey, right outside of New York City. I went to school in New York City for college, lived in San Francisco for a while, and then ended up here in Boston. I’m kind of a nomad.
You mentioned you play the harp as a hobby?
I’ve had a harp for a really long time, but I never knew how to play it, so I’ve actually been teaching myself from YouTube videos. It’s called a lap harp, and I’ve had it in my house for my entire life. No one in my family knew how to play it. My father just collected lots of instruments as a hobby. I brought it with me because I think it’s pretty, and I’ve had it in my house now for three years. I took it upon myself as a challenge––now that I have all this time––so that’s been really fun. It’s like learning a new language; you’re programming your brain to speak through your fingers in a weird way.
Why did you choose to become a school psychologist?
What brought me to my position as a school psychologist is that it’s a nice balance between learning about people’s learning styles, their mental health, and how to live a good life while setting ambitious goals. As a student, you need to balance multiple goals, and my job allows me to advocate for all of them. I personally had a really hard time in school, so I know what it’s like to be having a hard time and feel like you’re capable of so much more if someone could just support you. It’s really meaningful to me to be that person who can help you build that confidence.
Why did you choose to join Brookline High School specifically?
What brought me to Brookline High School was the student community and how involved they are in social issues, learning about race, power, privilege and how those work in the real world. I’ve never seen so many different programs that are student-led on all those issues. It’s inspiring to see students not only be interested in tough topics, but become leaders throughout those topics. I’m excited to learn from students that are feeling courageous and want to change things for the better.
What other hobbies do you have?
I also draw illustrations and make comics! My favorite “break glass in case of emergency” self-care strategy is to sit down with a bunch of Tombow markers, turn the volume down on my thoughts, and get lost in drawing for a few hours. Sometimes I use comics to help me process things that happen in my day. For example, last year I had a microaggression happen to me at work that was really frustrating, and it was super cathartic to sketch out comics about the situation, things I could have said but didn’t, and explore the situation with a sense of humor.