“I am a pretty good bowler,” is actually a huge understatement from Sahuaro guidance counselor Tracey Echols.  Mrs. Echols has been bowling since she was around 18. She had been bowling in the same league for 23 years, but she’s in a different league now since that league didn’t return after Covid. Her entire family is comprised of “big bowlers.” She explains, “I bowled with my mom and my sister every Monday night since I was 18.” Before she had kids, of course, she had way more free time to perfect her arm swing, but at the end of the season this May, she’s going to Vegas with her sister and they will participate in a big competition. She and her sister are very close, “She’s like my best friend, we do a lot of things together.”

Not only does she enjoy bowling during her spare time, but she’s also musically inclined and loves to cook and bake.  “I took piano lessons for 12 years,” she says. She played from the ages of 6 to 19 before she stopped playing because in college it was too hard to fit in. Mrs. Echols can still sight-read sheet music and play piano. Her favorite song on the piano is Moonlight Sonata. “I think growing up playing piano made me appreciate all types of music. I can listen to everything.” Her specialties are cakes and pies, and she bakes for anyone. Actually, if she could be any food she would choose to be chocolate because “chocolate makes everyone happy and I like to be around happy people,” she jokes.  But her favorite guilty pleasure is donuts.

Mrs. Echols started out as an English teacher back in 2004, but then made the switch to counseling. She was an English teacher for six years before she switched to counseling, saying, “It was always my intent to be a counselor.” What she misses most about teaching is having everyday interactions with the same students.  A typical day as a counselor involves meeting with parents and students, seeing appointments, meeting with teachers, and helping with crises. Then she comes home and takes care of her two little girls. Her oldest daughter, 10, is really into basketball. Her littlest one, 5, is very into makeup. She must make their lives pretty awesome because she admits that her own favorite age growing up was elementary school, “because life was just easy then.”

Mrs. Echols comes across as pretty chill, but she has a dry, witty sense of humor.  Her 6-word memoir would be: “She tried but she was tired.” And if she could have anyone in the world as her own teacher, she said it would be beloved Bob Ross.  “I think he would have taught me to paint “Happy Little Trees” and I would have learned to love art.”