Vallabh vidya mandir 

Gayatri Valia - Art

Gayatriben was born and raised in Mumbai, India. She completed her bachelor's degree in management studies and earned a master's degree in commerce from Mumbai; and worked for 5 years as a human resource consultant in Mumbai. In December 2007, she married Snehal Modi and moved with him to Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. She started her new life in the US and pursued her MBA degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). Gayatriben and Snehalbhai moved to Houston in 2010 and are blessed with a son, Krish. Gayatriben decided to stay home and raise her son providing him a family environment. When Krish started preschool, she worked there as a preschool teacher for 5 years. Recently, Krish turned 9 years old, and she decided to get back to the corporate world and is now working as a HR generalist with an emergency medical service company.

In India, her family worshipped Lord Krishna and followed the Pushtimarg; doing “Sewa” at home. Since childhood, she was nurtured in a traditional and religious environment. She celebrated Indian festivals, learned shlokas and stories of Krishna. She observed and helped her grandmother in her “Sewa” while growing up and hence, developed love and bhakti for Lord Krishna from an early age. When Gayatriben moved to the US, she continued to follow Pushtimarg and raised her son Krish (his name is also inspired by Shree Krishna) teaching our religion. To strengthen Krish’s knowledge of Indian culture, they joined VVM in 2018. Since then, Krish has enhanced his understanding of our culture, traditions, Ramayana and Mahabharata and deepened his love for and belief in Lord Krishna. She believes that VVM introduced a whole new world of bhakti, Sewa, and selfless love for Shree Krishna, not only to Krish, but to her entire family. So, when Krish attended Religion and Gujarati classes, Gayatriben and Snehalbhai volunteered at VPSS and VVM. They also loved celebrating all the festivals with other families at VVM.

This year Gayatriben joined the VVM team as a teacher for Arts and Crafts and Pre-K Religion class. Her love for children and passion for teaching gives her the confidence to take up this role. She likes creativity, and has the necessary aptitude and skill set, as she has conducted “art and craft summer camps” in the past. She loves to do arts and crafts projects in her free time.

She loves decorating Hindola and Phool Mandali for Krishna Sewa. She is a professional Mehendi and Rangoli Artist. She believes that her 5 years of teaching experience, passion for art, and knowledge of our culture will help her excel as a teacher at VVM.

Gayatriben strongly believes that each child is special and is a little artist in their own world. They all have the potential to rise and shine at their own pace and at their right time. As a teacher, she aims to provide VVM students, along with motherly love and tender loving care, a safe, fun and loving environment to learn and grow. She feels blessed to be a part of VVM and looks forward to meeting all the amazing VVM kids and their families.