Gabriela Mistral was once an ordinary teacher in a small village school in Northern Chile. Towering mountains separate her village from the world outside. Gabriela Mistral was only 15 when she began teaching, but she was a good teacher. She helped the minds of her students' scale the mountain walls and reached out to the world beyond. For 18 years, Gabriela devoted her life to the poor farm children of Chile's Northern valleys. During part of this time, she was director of schools in all of Chile. Before long, many countries recognized her as a great friend of children and the leader in education. In 1922, she was invited to Mexico to help organize the rural school system. Two years later, Gabriela Mistral came to the United States where she served as a visiting professor in several colleges.