Cortlyn Gonzales

Cortlyn was born and raised in Wilmington, NC. Her father was a local minister, and she was blessed to be able to serve in the church alongside her parents and 3 siblings the majority of her life. After graduating Laney High School, she attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and received her Bachelor of Arts in History with a certification in Secondary Education. Her years of playing “school” and teaching stuffed animals in her bedroom (and losing her glasses in the process…daily) only slightly prepared her for teaching high school, but she enjoyed every second! Cortlyn taught for New Hanover County Schools for 3 years (Ashley High & Laney High) beginning in 2014, and then taught for North Carolina Virtual Public Schools until 2023, where she maintained her NC Teaching License.

In 2015, during her first year of teaching, Cortlyn met her husband, Mike. Mike was a Marine and in Engineer School at Camp Lejeune when they started dating, but soon left for Okinawa, Japan, where they dated long distance for 2 years. Upon his return, in 2017, they got married and immediately moved to California for 4 years while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton. They returned to NC in 2021, and in 2022, welcomed their first child, Hudson. 11 months later, their son Mason came bouncing into their lives, and in January of 2026, they welcomed their daughter, Emmie. Since Hudson’s birth, Cortlyn has been a stay at home Mommy and considers it life’s greatest blessing to have been able to be home with them. Through lots of prayer and gentle nudges from family, Cortlyn decided to return to the classroom when the opportunity at Northside arose. She is thrilled to join the team and go to school alongside her sons, Hudson and Mason. She is excited to meet her students and their families and to work in a Christ-centered environment. She currently attends Central Church, and her favorite thing in the world is to spend time with her entire family.