After a long journey, assistant principal Emily Suess has made her way back to the Cougar family. She’s been a part of TUSD for 12 years. At Santa Rita, she was an exceptional education teacher for 8 years, then left the district for a bit. Shortly after, she came back and was a teacher at Sahauro in 2016 and got moved up to the Exceptional Education Department Chair in 2017. In pursuit of an administrative position, she joined Palo Verde as the Dean of Students in 2018, then became assistant principal at Secrist Middle School in 2019. Now, in the 2020-2021 school year, Mrs. Suess has returned home as the assistant principal of Sahuaro.

When asked why she returned, Suess said, “Once a Cougar Always a Cougar!  Once I worked at Sahuaro as a teacher and department chair, I felt like I was a part of the Cougar Family.  I have since always wanted to return to Sahuaro and when the assistant principal position opened, I was happy for the opportunity.  To be a part of the leadership team on the Sahuaro Campus has been a dream come true.”

Suess was born and raised in eastern Tucson and attended Marshall Elementary, Secrist Middle, and graduated from Santa Rita High. She said, ” I went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Nothern Arizona University (Go Jacks!), a master’s degree in Special Education from University of Arizona (Go Cats!) and then a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.” In her free time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors with her husband and two children and going hiking, running, 4- wheeling, biking, and she loves vacationing up in the mountains.

Suess has been on campus every day since the beginning of the school year, overseeing the few students on campus, custodians and security. “It is essential that I’m making sure our campus is as safe and clean as possible during this unusual time,” she said. Her aim as assistant principal for this year and every year beyond is to “to do what is best for each student while supporting the whole school.”

Despite being the “new guy” on campus during a pandemic, the staff and faculty have been very welcoming and supportive since day one. Also, she “cannot wait to have everyone back on campus (when the time is safe) and I am really looking forward to seeing all your smiling face in person.”