Our Talent Tribute Monthly Feature is designed to celebrate the phenomenal staff that serve our Members.
There are few people who know VALLEYLIFE as well as DTA 2 Supervisor Ce Galaviz. Having joined the organization to volunteer as a teenager in 1968, Ce has watched as Valley of the Sun School and Habilitation Center transitioned into the VALLEYLIFE we all know and love today. Over the years, she has played a critical role within the organization, holding titles like Forklift Driver and Warehouse Production Center Stocker to Supervisor within the earliest iteration of what is now known as the Day Program.
If there is any question about how much love she has for her Members, a quick look at her work desk perfectly captures that love tenfold. Throughout the paperwork, numerous pieces of Member artwork are on full display. To the left of her desktop, a framed 50-year-old photo of a then 6-year-old photo of Shelby S., one of her current Members within DTA 2, sits and reminds her of the little boy she has watched grow up. In many ways, Ce has grown up alongside the VALLEYLIFE Members she serves making it difficult to view them as anything other than family.
Outside of VALLEYLIFE, Ce is a proud mother of two daughters and loves to make lasting memories with her friends. Ce also enjoys any opportunity she has to see the world, whether it’s being out in nature or traveling and visiting new places on a cruise. Over the years she was also known to occasionally work as a waitress at her sister-in-law’s restaurant and as a behavior specialist at a public school where she worked with migrant children.
If you were to ask her, Ce would emphasize just how blessed she feels to have been able to live the life that she has, especially when it came to making a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of people throughout her journey, with both VALLEYLIFE and through volunteering for trips with other agencies and assisting with Special Olympics. It is a blessing that she has never taken lightly, as she’s spent her life advocating for Members and helping ensure that they learned a sense of independence. In December of 2024, After 56 years of service, Ce will be leaving the organization to enjoy a very well-deserved retirement.
Before she retires, VALLEYLIFE would like to thank her for the dedication and love that she poured into her various roles within the organization.
We sat down and asked Ce about her VALLEYLIFE experience as a whole, and this is what she had to say.
1. How would you describe your ideal day at VALLEYLIFE?
My Ideal day at VALLEYLIFE is any day where the Members are happy when they come in, and when they’re peaceful and ready for the day.
2. What has your time at VALLEYLIFE taught you over the years?
My time at VALLEYLIFE has taught me to be caring, loving, and spiritually connected to the people I serve. I’ve learned to talk, listen, and understand on different levels and can now go anywhere and feel comfortable with all kinds of people, and I think that’s thanks to all of the people we’ve had throughout the years. The Members have taught me not to judge and how to properly advocate for them.
3. Can you tell us what you enjoy most about interacting with Members?
What I’ve enjoyed about working with the Members is that we’re all the same. It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you’ve been, I believe that we’re all on this earth to help each other out and to love each other. I just love the Members that I serve because I’ve learned so much from them. One of the smartest women I know is a VALLEYLIFE Member and some people wouldn’t think that but she is one of the smartest people that I know.
4. What skills or qualities do you think are most important for success in your position?
Some skills and qualities that I think have helped me find success in my role over the years are to just listen, be sincere, to be a person of my word, and to advocate for the Members.
I’m so blessed because I can communicate with people who are not verbal. I’m blessed to be able to feel people and sense people so much so that the Members who can’t speak can call me with their mind, body, and soul. I really think that’s special. To have that with the Members is just marvelous.
5. What would you like to be remembered for when you retire?
I would like to be remembered for peace. I worked with negative behaviors for over 30 years and to help those people find peace, to be calm, and to be happy, that’s a blessing. I would often take on Members that other agencies didn’t want and I would tell them to let them come here. We learned to be a family, we’ve learned how to work with each other. One of my biggest things is to teach the Members independence so that they don’t have to depend on nobody and they can do it for themselves.
I’m at peace leaving and I know it’s time for me to leave now because I’ve accomplished what I needed to accomplish here in this lifetime and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do that and serve all these people.