With open arms, Sahuaro has been welcoming a plethora of new teachers this year. Among those new teachers are Ms. Trujillo and Ms. Hubbard, both first-year science teachers, teaching anatomy and physiology in the lower-100 building.

She looks young enough to be a student, and at just 5 feet tall, she easily blends in with her class.  Before coming to Sahuaro, Ms. Trujillo a 2017 U of A graduate who majored in biology, packed her bags after high school and moved to Australia, where she lived for two years. While living in Australia, Ms. Trujillo attended the University of the Sunshine Coast where she started her degree in biology. Ms. Trujillo emphasized her wanderlust, stating,  “Going abroad is an amazing experience that I greatly recommend to everyone.” Aside from living in Australia for two years, Ms. Trujillo also traveled to places such as Singapore and Thailand, but oddly has never been to New York City. Out of all her travels, Ms. Trujillo says that Thailand was definitely her favorite, “My favorite part was seeing and learning about the culture there.” When she’s not traveling, Ms. Trujillo either spends her time playing golf – a sport she’s been playing for the past ten years, or practicing her new hobby, ultimate Frisbee.

When asked about how her first year at Sahuaro has been, Ms Trujillo said, “The staff has been extremely welcoming and supportive towards me.” She also added that her students were easily the best thing about her first year. However, the biggest obstacle she has been facing this year is being prepared and managing her time well. Ms. Trujillo commented on how hard it was to keep up with her career and her social life, but said that she has been adjusting to it throughout the year.

Right across the hall from Ms. Trujillo is another first year science teacher, Ms. Hubbard. Ms. Hubbard graduated from the U of A as well, but after deciding not to go through med school, she put her love of science to work and graduated with a degree in physiology. She is incredibly passionate about what she does, stating, “Science is something that is extremely innovative, and something I feel I can get the students interested in, because it’s a relatable subject.” Besides her students, Ms. Hubbard has multiple favorite things about Sahuaro. One of them is the gorgeous view of the mountains she sees everyday while working, as well as the amazing staff that we have. “There’s a sense of community among the staff and the students here.”

Other than her love for science, Ms. Hubbard’s first true love was photography. Originally, she started a degree in photography before switching to physiology. Even though she isn’t a photographer for a living, Ms. Hubbard does wedding photography on the side as a hobby. Who knows, she may be the next photography teacher at Sahuaro (Mr. Halfmann will be retiring at the end of this year). Aside from her natural talent with photography, Ms. Hubbard actually speaks two foreign languages – Chinese and Turkish. She started to learn Turkish while she was living in Turkey with her family. Ms. Hubbard said that she loved everything about Turkey and it was a “wonderful experience.”

We welcome both Ms. Trujillo and Ms. Hubbard to Sahuaro and can’t wait to see what they will accomplish while they are here, Welcome to the Cougar family!