A different kind of classroom: An alumna’s journey to the docks
By day, Gina Villeggiante once taught third-graders. By night, she worked on the Bay Area docks, surrounded by cranes, cargo containers, and the constant hum of heavy machinery.
Today, she still considers herself a teacher — just in a very different classroom.
Villeggiante, who is from Millbrae, California, earned her bachelor’s degree in human development from Sonoma State University in 2013 and her multiple subject teaching credential in 2014. With two older brothers who also attended Sonoma State and extended family in Sonoma County, the campus and community already felt familiar when she arrived as a student.
Her original plan was to become a teacher, and in her first years after graduating, substitute teaching became the foundation around which she built a “portfolio” of jobs. Eventually, she stepped into a co-teaching role in a third-grade classroom, where she loved working with her young students. Still, she was already questioning when teaching would become a sustainable career—one that didn’t require multiple side hustles to make ends meet.
Around that time, an unexpected opportunity emerged. The lottery for dockworker hiring opened, and Villeggiante decided to apply. She was selected in the highly competitive process for what was initially a part-time position.
The move was not entirely out of the blue. Villeggiante is a third-generation longshorewoman; both her father and grandfather built their careers on the Bay Area docks.
For a time, she balanced both worlds — teaching eight-year-olds several days a week and working on the docks at night. The contrast was stark, but the experience was formative. That balancing act came to an end in 2021, when the principal at the school where she worked decided to discontinue the co-teaching model.
For Villeggiante, the choice became clear. By then, she had also begun exploring a new interest on the docks: mechanic work.
“I worked in the shop a couple of times, (and I) got a lot of encouragement from colleagues,” she said, noting that while women have worked on Bay Area docks since 1978, they remain underrepresented in specialized roles like mechanics.
Pursuing that path required additional training and education — something Villeggiante took on in her own time, including coursework at Laney College in Oakland, where she earned welding certifications.
She has also followed a family tradition of embracing union leadership, and she co-founded the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10's Young Workers Committee (“YWC”) in 2022.
More recently, she applied for and was elected to a position as a dispatcher. In that role and in her union work, she sees herself drawing on the knowledge, skills, and experiences she developed at Sonoma State in unexpected ways.
“I am still teaching, just to a different crowd,” said Villeggiante, explaining that a key part of her role is helping younger hires understand the history of both the industry and the ILWU.
Her experience at Sonoma State continues to shape how she approaches that work.
“Sonoma State provided me with the space and environment where it was OK for me to try things and make mistakes,” she said.
“It is something that the university does really well, and it informs how I approach my job today. As a dispatcher, people come to you a lot with their problems, and Sonoma State gave me a model for how to show up to help people solve their challenges.”
Whether in a classroom or on the docks, Villeggiante’s work remains rooted in the same purpose: helping others learn, grow and find their footing no matter the setting.
Villeggiante is one of the 2026 Faces of SSU. Learn more about her time at Sonoma State and her career path in the profile linked here.
SSU students and alumni are invited to join Villeggiante in conversation during her upcoming April 14 Industry Insights conversation. Registration information for the event is linked here.