Pearland part-timer goes the extra mile

Elizabeth Ayala, a part-time accounts payable clerk for the city of Pearland, was named one of Pearland’s employees of the quarter, an honor that is bestowed on a city employee who has exhibited an outstanding work ethic and has often gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Ayala, who has worked for the city of Pearland for seven years, is a perfect example of an employee who performed duties that exceed her job description requirements. One of the reasons she was nominated for, and eventually won, this quarter’s award is that she helped with a market survey that was conducted to prepare the budget for the purchasing department.

“I don’t work with the purchasing department, but I was able to help them out and get them out of a bind,” Ayala said. “That way, they were able to get that finished before it was due to the council department.”

Although Ayala is not a Pearland native, she has grown to love her new surroundings. She was born in Weslaco, Texas, about halfway between Brownsville and McAllen, and she moved to Pearland eight years ago.

“When we came to look at houses, I was very impressed with the way the city had a lot of programs to offer for the family,” Ayala said. “It seemed very family-oriented, and when I got the job here, it was an even bigger plus. It was great.”

Ayala began working for the city in the permit department before moving to finance, a career she had some experience with from a prior job working as a bookkeeper for a school district in south Texas.

Now Ayala is working on furthering her education, taking classes part-time at the University of Houston, and she is on track to graduate in May 2013 with a double major in creative writing and Spanish.

“My hobby is that I really love to write, and I love to read a lot.” she said.

Once she finishes her degree, Ayala hopes to begin working in the field of adult education, particularly with adults who have little or no English literacy.

“One of the places I’ve been looking at going to hopefully work at is the adult reading center that we have here,” Ayala said. “My passion is to help adults that want to learn how to read and write English. That’s the passion that I have the most.”

ABOUT ELIZABETH AYALA
Age: 43
Occupation: Accounts payable clerk
Community Connection: Pearland resident
Fast Fact: Working on double major in creative writing and Spanish